Coastal Fish Identification: California to Alaska

I truly appreciate the level of time and effort that goes into creating one of these volumes. The variety of species in a particular area of ocean is huge and attempting to capture most of them, along with decent photos is a truly massive undertaking. This is something that I certainly could not do and the relatively comprehensive nature of this work is well done.Of course, it can never be perfect. Species that were uncommon due to overfishing at the time of publication (such as the sevengill shark - which only receives a tiny mention in this book) have come back and photos are readily available today. Others have gone the other direction and are now less common. I have not found others yet that I know are missing, again - this is a relatively comprehensive work and decently executed.I think at this point I would prefer an online resource. The technology is there and updating would be far simpler today than when this was published (1996).Overall I am happy to have a decent field guide to the fishes and creatures I see while diving.Hope that helps.

Great pictures and very thorough. The spearfisher's bible.Would recommend for anyone who plans to start spearfishing, or just diving/snorkeling in general so you know what you're looking at. For many of the species they show pictures of the adults and juveniles, which makes identifying them very easy. As other reviewers have said, the book could use a little update as fish populations do change over time, but overall a very comprehensive book. Just wish it was waterproof.

This is the new and greatly improved version of Paul's popular field guide. If you dive, fish, or beach-comb the west coast of the US this is one of the best Identification guides around. It's full of wonderful photos and descriptions of all of the known fishes you will see. It's small enough to carry with you on your travels and has a sturdy waterproof cover.

I wish we had bought this book before our recent dive trip to California. The little fish id cards just don't have as much info and the quality of pictures in this book. As a fan of the Humann id book series, I can say that all of his books are the best on the market and any snorkeler or diver should own them all.

Great I. D. book. I fish off of the California North Coast and have caught some strange looking fish. This book shows you exactly what they are. A must have on a fishing boat.

I am a dive pro in Southern California. My favorite part of diving is recognizing the critters. Thisis a great reference with excellent photos and educational information. A great resource for instructors,students and anyone who appreciates the life in the So Cal coast.

I use color reference books for my woodcarvings, it works just fine, I will keep adding fish books to my reference library.

This is the best fish ID guide for scuba divers and others for use along the Pacific coast of North America. That said, the 2nd edition ( Coastal Fish Identification California to Alaska 2nd Ed. ) came out in late 2008, and, unless you're on a really tight budget, that would be the one I would get, as it has been significantly expanded.