catalog · 1347 species

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1347 species

Muraenidae

Abbott's moray eel

Gymnothorax eurostus

Moray of shallow reefs, purplish brown with yellow dots. It is not a target of rod fishing, but has commercial use in fishing and in the aquarium fish trade.

Sea

Cichlidae

Acará-amarelo

Caquetaia kraussii

Acará-amarelo from rivers and swamps of Colombia and Venezuela, up to 26 cm. It eats fish and bottom invertebrates and has little commercial fishing.

Freshwater

Loricariidae

Acari-bola-branca

Spectracanthicus zuanoni

Armored catfish from rocky bottoms of the Xingu River in Pará, with large white blotches. It is almost never caught on rod, but it turns up in the aquarium trade.

Freshwater

Loricariidae

Acari-de-corredeira

Hypostomus gymnorhynchus

Acari-de-corredeira from the Guianas, reaching 26.6 cm and weighing up to 253 g. It is caught commercially and used in the aquarium trade.

Freshwater

Loricariidae

Acary avion

Acanthicus adonis

Armored catfish up to 20.6 cm, from the lower Tocantins River. It has commercial and aquarium use, but hardly appears in sport fishing.

Freshwater

Acanthuridae

Achilles tang

Acanthurus achilles

Almost black surgeonfish of clean, shallow reefs in the eastern Pacific, with a spine on the tail stalk that can be venomous. It is hardly ever caught on rod.

Sea

Sciaenidae

Acoupa weakfish

Cynoscion acoupa

The largest weakfish on the coast, over 1 m. Hunts in murky water with the tide running, at dawn and at night.

EstuarySea

time of yearbest: Oct–Mar

Carangidae

African pompano

Alectis ciliaris

Deep-bodied, flattened carangid with an almost straight forehead and, in juveniles, long fin filaments. Grows to 150 cm and 22.9 kg, lives in deep shelf and open-sea waters, and is a sport fish.

Sea

time of yearbest: Dec–Mar

Clariidae

African sharptooth catfish

Clarias gariepinus

Exotic, invasive African catfish. Breathes air, tolerates foul water and eats just about anything. Caught at pay lakes and in rivers where it escaped.

Freshwaternon-native

time of yearbest: Oct–Mar

Belonidae

Agujon needlefish

Tylosurus acus

One of the largest needlefish in the Atlantic, over 1.5 m, with a strong bill and quick leaps, it strikes surface lures over reefs and open sea. Caution: the bill can injure anyone in its path.

Sea

time of year

Erythrinidae

Aimara

Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus

A small relative of the trahira, with a cylindrical body, a dark flank stripe and an eyespot behind the gill cover. Breathes air, lives in swamps and is live bait in the Pantanal.

Freshwater

time of yearbest: May–Oct

Scombridae

Albacore

Thunnus alalunga

The white albacore, a tuna with extremely long pectoral fins, from cooler waters than the other albacores. A longline target in the Southeast and South and less common in recreational fishing.

Sea

time of year

Berycidae

Alfonsino

Beryx decadactylus

Deep-water red of the slope, on soft bottoms between 200 and 800 m, with a tall body and blood-red color. It is mainly taken by commercial fishing.

Sea

Argentinidae

Alice argentina

Argentina aliceae

Small silvery fish that forms schools on the bottom of the eastern Pacific, between 100 and 160 m. It is raw material for fishmeal and rarely appears on the line.

Sea

Lepisosteidae

Alligator gar

Atractosteus spatula

The giant of the gar family, over 2 m and 100 kg. In Mexico it lives in rivers, lagoons and reservoirs of the Gulf coastal plain, from Tamaulipas to Veracruz, and is caught on natural bait.

Freshwater

time of yearbest: May–Sep

Carangidae

Almaco jack

Seriola rivoliana

The seriola with the deepest body and sickle-shaped fins, from deep shoals and wrecks. A target of vertical jigging: it pulls hard toward the rock right after the hookset.

Sea

time of yearbest: Oct–Mar

Cichlidae

Amatitlan cichlid

Vieja guttulata

Cichlid from the Pacific slope of Guatemala, reaching 30 cm and used in aquariums.

Freshwater

Sciaenidae

Amazon croaker

Pachyurus schomburgkii

A croaker of Amazon rivers and estuaries, living in fresh and brackish water. It is important as food in commercial fishing.

FreshwaterEstuary

Pristigasteridae

Amazon pellona

Pellona castelnaeana

Freshwater relative of sardines and herrings, silver and gold, that hunts in schools and leaps often.

Freshwater

time of yearbest: Jul–Oct

Loricariidae

Amazon sailfin catfish

Pterygoplichthys pardalis

The painted armored catfish of the Amazon várzea, sold alive at Manaus markets. Scrapes algae, breathes air and almost never takes a hook.

Freshwater

time of yearbest: Aug–Nov

Carangidae

Amberstripe scad

Decapterus muroadsi

Slender, cylindrical jack with a yellow stripe between two blue stripes, forming schools in open sea and near islands. Caught on sabiki and small jigs, and used as bait.

Sea

time of yearbest: Apr–Sep

Anguillidae

American eel

Anguilla rostrata

An eel that grows in rivers, lagoons and estuaries of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and goes to spawn in the Sargasso Sea. It is Endangered worldwide: if you hook one, release it.

EstuarySea

time of yearbest: Sep–Oct

Dorosomatidae

American gizzard shad

Dorosoma cepedianum

Sardine of large rivers, lakes and estuaries, native to Mexico and introduced to Puerto Rico, where it is exotic. It is mostly used as bait, and is sometimes caught on line.

EstuarySea

Alosidae

American shad

Alosa sapidissima

Shad that run up rivers to spawn and have highly prized roe. In Mexico it is an exotic species, introduced on the Pacific coast.

EstuarySea

Conservation: the red badge comes from the national list of threatened species (Portaria GM/MMA 1.667/2026), which has legal effect: VU (vulnerable), EN (endangered) and CR (critically endangered) generally mean catch is prohibited or restricted. "IUCN" is the global assessment, a warning with no legal effect in Brazil. Essential profiles include identification, where the species occurs and rules; season, technique and bait are added when a good source is available.