A number of bacteria were isolated from sea water in Skagerrak, Denmark, at 30 m depth. Two of the isolates, strains D28 and D30(T), belonged to the Flavobacteriaceae within the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides group. Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes of the two strains indicated strongly that they belonged to the genus Tenacibaculum and that they showed greatest similarity to the species Tenacibaculum amylolyticum and Tenacibaculum mesophilum. DNA-DNA hybridization values, DNA base composition and phenotypic characteristics separated the Skagerrak strains from the other species within TENACIBACULUM: Thus, it is concluded that the strains belong to a novel species within the genus Tenacibaculum, for which the name Tenacibaculum skagerrakense sp. nov. is proposed, with strain D30(T) (=ATCC BAA-458(T)=DSM 14836(T)) as the type strain.