Classifications of Fish and Seafood
By Renee Shelton

Classifications of Fish and Seafood with Examples

All fish and seafood fall under a specific classification. Knowing this can help you make choices when purchasing and better understand recipes.

• Fin Fish
  • Freshwater Fish (fish that live in fresh waters)
    examples: catfish, brook trout, perch, carp, pike
  • Saltwater Fish (fish that live in salt waters)
  • Round Fish
    examples: mackerel, salmon, snapper, weakfish, whiting, haddock, tuna, mahi mahi
  • Flat Fish (has eyes on one side of head, oval body in shape)
    examples: sole, flounder, turbot, halibut
  • Cartilaginous Fish (has no bones, cartilage skeleton)
    examples: shark
• Shell fish and Mollusks:
  • Univalve (one shell)
    examples: conch, abalone, whelks
  • Bivalve (two shells)
    examples: clams, oysters, mussels
  • Gastropods (mollusk having a one-piece shell or no shells, usually move with one muscular ventral foot)
    examples: snails, limpets, slugs
  • Crustaceans (having a shell with jointed appendages)
    examples: crayfish, crab, crawfish, shrimp, lobster, prawns
  • Cephalopods (marine animal with a head and eyes, arms with suckers attached to head, fin bearing mantle)
    examples: squid, octopus, cuttlefish

Renee Shelton is the owner of this site, runs the fishing chef blog, and is the Fishing Editor for the 2nd largest women's website on the internet, BellaOnline.com.

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Fishing 'Culinary Info' created by Fishing & Food Editor, Renee Shelton.