The poachers are a family of about 45 species of cold-water fish; 14 of which are found in Puget Sound. Their scales have been modified into bony plates, and their bodies are elongated. They use their pectoral fins to make rapid bursts of movement, and have no swim bladders.

Poachers generally are bottom feeders, eating crustaceans and other creatures they uncover on the sea bottom. They live in depths ranging from shallow waters to a kilometer deep.

(click on photo to enlarge)
	Sturgeon poacher (Podothecus accipenserinus)