FishBase is an information system available in the form of CD-ROMS and on-line, covering all fishes of the world in a fashion that is both global and deep. FishBase, whose accompanying book is available in English, French and Portuguese, covers over 25,000 species of fish, i.e., most of the extant species in the world, and addresses the needs of a vast array of potential users, ranging from fisheries managers to biology teachers. The features of FishBase that enable it to meet such a wide range of needs reside in its architecture, which makes extensive use of modern relational database techniques.
