The diverse and abundant fish fauna along the outer coast are significant commercial and recreational resources. The same environmental factors that determine distribution, abundance, and species composition of other living resources of the area also affect fish communities. The diverse habitats of Washington's outer coast each claim their own characteristic assemblage of fish.

Fish of the nearshore sublittoral habitat show the greatest diversity and include many commercially important species. Salmon are anadromous fish that spend most of their life in salt water but return to fresh water to spawn at maturity. Five species of Pacific salmon occur along the outer coast of Washington: chinook, sockeye, pink, chum, and coho. Two other salmon-related anadromous species, sea-run cutthroat trout and steelhead, also inhabit offshore waters. Other species include albacore tuna, Pacific halibut, flounder (starry and arrowtooth), sole (petrale, Dover, English), numerous species of rockfish, Pacific cod, Pacific hake, lingcod, sablefish, thresher shark, Pacific herring, northern anchovy, jack mackerel, pollock, spiny dogfish, green and white sturgeon.

Fishes associated with sandy intertidal areas include starry flounder, staghorn sculpin, sand lance, sand sole, redtail surfperch, and sanddab. Surf smelt spawn at high tide on sandy beaches where surf action covers and aerates the eggs (Gardner, 1981).

Many of the finfish found in shallow rocky reefs are also common in kelp beds. The kelp canopy, stipes, and holdfasts increase the available habitat for pelagic and demersal species, and offer protection to juvenile fish. The numerous species of rockfish are the dominant fish. Other associated species include lingcod, kelp greenling, cabezon, kelp perch, wolf eel, and red Irish lord.

The rocky intertidal habitat is characterized by a rather small and specialized group of fish adapted for life in tidepools and wash areas. These fishes include tidepool sculpin, wolf eel, juvenile lingcod and greenling, gunnels, eelpouts, pricklebacks, cockcombs, and warbonnets.

The salmon and groundfish species assemblages are the most significant species in the study area. The region is not only important for those salmon that spawn in streams adjacent to the study area, but potentially encompasses the migration corridor of both juvenile and adult salmonids from California, Oregon, and British Columbia as well. Second, the analyses suggest that offshore and mid-shelf areas under consideration for sanctuary status generally are more significant for non-anadramous fishes than the inshore areas.

Offshore areas are the most important areas for commercial harvests of groundfish. More than 2/3 of annual 1987-88 outer coast harvests came from these areas for the following species: Pacific ocean perch, lingcod, English sole, Dover sole, Pacific cod, and sablefish. It is important to note, however, that four of the top ten fishes commercially harvested along the outer coast of Washington (chinook, coho, and chum salmon, and lingcod) are either estuarine-associated (i.e., they use estuaries during some time in their lives) or estuarine-dependent (i.e., they require estuaries to complete their life cycles). Additionally, the top four recreational species for Washington (chinook and coho salmon, steelhead, and lingcod) all utilize estuaries, at least as juveniles.