To date, 1301 fish species have been recorded within French Polynesia's 4,541,204-km² exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and from the territory's 14,690 km² of inland waters. Most species were found within the Society Islands, which have been more closely studied, than in the Austral Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, Marquesas Islands and Gambier Islands, in that order. Of the 1038 species of reef fish that inhabit the lagoons and top 60 m of the outer reef slopes of French Polynesia, the faunal lists from the western part of the EEZ show a transition between the fish of the continental Pacific in the west and the island Pacific to the east. Fish in the Austral Islands (in the south) show affinities with faunal lists of the cold zones of the coral Pacific. Finally, in the Marquesas, fish species are abundant and highly endemic. A total of 27 species inhabit the freshwater areas of French Polynesia. Three types of fisheries are practised in French Polynesia: deep-sea fisheries up to the boundaries of French Polynesia's EEZ, coastal fisheries and lagoon fisheries. Subsistence fishing is ubiquitous, despite the widespread occurrence of ciguatera. Fishing grounds are well managed,