Bass

Bass, common name for many food fishes, but not corresponding to any particular scientific classification. Various bass are known by such local names as largemouth or sea bass.

Members of the sea bass family are hermaphroditic—that is, individuals have both male and female reproductive organs. Although part of the sea bass family, some of these family members are freshwater fishes. A popular game fish in this group is the stone bass, or wreckfish, of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The black sea bass, also known as blackfish, is found on the Atlantic coast of the United States and is usually 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) long. The kelp bass is a salt-water rockfish of California in the same family.

Scientific classification: Bass belong to the order Perciformes. Most bass are included within the sunfish family, Centrarchidae; the sea bass family, Serranidae; and the temperate bass family, Percichthyidae.