A preliminary study on the diversity of fish species and marine fish faunas of the South China Sea

There are 3048 species of fish occurring in the China Seas (CS), of which at least 2321 species are found in the South China Sea (SCS), belonging to 35 orders, 236 families and 822 genera. The fish species diversity is analyzed in this paper based on biogeography, biostatistics, fishing methods, etc. It is found that the regional environment, especially biological factors, plays an important role in the distribution of faunas, and there are two fish faunas in the SCS, one in the north and another in the center and south. This regional division is of value for sustainable fishery production and efficient management of fishery resources. © Science Press, Ocean University of China and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2008.