In response to potential oil shipment to or through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, this baseline study was initiated to document the distribution, abundance, and biomass of the nearshore fish, to determine the food habits of the fish and to identify axnd catalogue the macroinvertebrates collected incidentally with the fish. Seventy species of fish were collected by beach seine (demersal fishes) and townet (neritic species). Species richness increased from west to east. Fish were generally most abundant during the summer; reduced abundances typified winter collections. Standing crop was greatest during summer and fall and least during winter and spring. One hundred and fifteen species of macroinvertebrates were collected with the fish. The highest values were usually recorded during the spring and the lowest during the fall.