Fish of Baltic Sea

While the Baltic Sea might seem boring and mundane compared to tropical oceans, it has a fairly diverse and very odd assemblage of fish. It's the world's largest pool of brackish water, but it's geologically so young, there are no specialized brackish water species.

So it's a confusing mix. There are resilient ocean species, often smaller than their oceanic counterparts and unable to breed in some parts of the sea, and just as resilient freshwater fish venturing into the salty parts. Arctic fish mixed with temperate species coming from south. Oceanic fish that once invaded fresh waters and then returned here, now unable to tolerate full ocean salinity.

Fish that give birth, fish whose males get pregnant, fish whose eyes migrate over their heads during their lifetimes, fish that build nests, fish that smell like fresh cucumber. We have everything.

Made for Sieppo, a children's magazine published by The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.

Black markers and Photoshop imitating watercolor.