This encyclopedic yet readable work from two of the greatest living experts on the subject is the most complete account ever published on the life histories of the astonishing array of fishes that live in, or pass through, the waters of the Strait of Georgia.

The Strait of Georgia, British Columbia's magnificent inland sea, is one of the world's great fish habitats, home to over two hundred species ranging from the miniscule pencilsmelt to the gargantuan basking shark. Most of the three million British Columbians who live around the strait are aware of a mere handful of the most common fish—such as salmon, herring and rockfish—and know little about even those species, beyond how to catch and cook them. In this book they will learn about the remarkable life histories, the physical characteristics, the social and economic importance and the ecological place of not just the well-known fish but each of 243 incredibly diverse species that frequent the strait.

Fish scientists Dick Beamish and Jeff Marliave have spent their professional lives studying this bountiful natural aquarium and have created a reference that will inspire both the general and the scholarly reader. In the way it presents the life story of each fish, as well as its place in the larger story of the strait, there has never been a book like it. Fishes of the Strait of Georgia is an essential companion for all students of the sea, whether in the home, the classroom or the lab.