The intention of this guide is to be a field reference to the fishes captured during the various Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division (FRAM) West Coast surveys. Scientific and technical terms have been kept to a minimum and, when used, are defined within the text. Descriptions and distribution are confined to those species within the geographic (U.S.–Canada to U.S.–Mexico borders) and depth (30–1,680 m) parameters of the FRAM West Coast surveys. Many of the fishes described have geographic and/or depth ranges that extend outside of the survey parameters. Distributions include these areas and are described by political boundaries (e.g., state and/or country borders), bodies of water (i.e., the northeastern Pacific, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Columbia River, etc.), islands and/or major geographical features (i.e., the Hawaiian, Farallon, and Channel Islands, Cape Flattery, Point Conception, etc.).