Val Kells is a marine science illustrator whose clients include publishers, designers, museums, nature centers, and aquariums. Her work has appeared in over 30 public aquariums and museums and numerous publications. Kent Carpenter is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University. He is author and editor of numerous publications, including the multivolume FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes.

I was surprised to discover just how comprehensive and well-illustrated this book is. Good field guides don't come along too often... But this one covers well over 1,000 species and includes everything you're likely to encounter from the coastal bays out to 200 meter (660 foot) deep waters. Flip through, and you'll discover species you didn't imagine existed (the Atlantic Spiney Lumpfish? The Freckled Driftfish?) as well as the ones you know and love... to catch! -- Lenny Rudow Boater Mouth 2010 This book is a wonderful identification guide... It will make an excellent addition to any tying library both for its detailed baitfish inllustrations as well as a tool for catch identification and research. -- Stuart Patterson Florida Fly Fishing Mgazine 2011 A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes is a resource that shouldn't be overlooked for any student of marine life. Midwest Book Review 2011 This is a substantial improvement on the Peterson Field Guide... Val Kells's illustrations are vivid and beautiful. The comprehensiveness of this text, along with the amount of detail in both illustration and text, are impressive. For these reasons, along with the very reasonable price, I would recommend this book to my colleagues in the scientific community, as well as to my fishing and diving companions. Bulletin of Marine Science 2011 This comprehensive field guide to the marine and brackish water fishes of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts is as well executed as it is accurate. Mariner 2011 Significant and news worthy... comprehensive and compact... A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes is a must have book for any serious angler. Coastal Angler Magazine 2011 You would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive, beautifully illustrated, and well organized book than A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes: From Maine to Texas and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in marine life. -- Mark Watanabe YakAngler.com 2011 Quite comprehensive, and the illustrations are marvelous! Aqua-Notes 2011 A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes: From Maine to Texas is a must for anyone fishing the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S... it is a great reference for the coffee table, boat or tackle box. International Angler 2011

• AcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroductionFamiliesSpeciesGlossaryRare Fishes Also in the AreaSelect Bibliography and Additional ResourcesIndex