Rose-red to pink dorsal surface, silvery on sides and ventral surface. Small lobes projecting from anterior part of upper jaw. Long second anal fin spine.

To 41 cm (16 inches).

Amphitrite Point, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Cedros Island, Baja California.

68 to 420 fm.

Similar to S. diploproa in color and body shape.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW, Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Dusky on back, light red on body; black in membranes of fins; usually with black spots on body and in dorsal fin.

To 20 inches.

Off Oregon to Guadalupe Island.

17 to 135 fm.

There is a form of this species that frequents deep water over muddy or sandy bottom without black spotting on body or in fins.

red widow

Picture: Bill Barss, Text: Guide to the Coastal Marine Fishes of California, Bulletin #157, Miller & Lea, 1972.

Dark gray to black becoming lighter ventrally. Light gray mottling on back. Black spots on dorsal fin. Rounded anal fin. Weak head spines and smyphyseal knob.

To 63 cm (25 inches).

Amchitka and Kodiak Islands, Alaska, to Baja California. Schooling over rocky reefs from bottom to surface.

To 200 fm. (common at depth from 0 to 40 fm).

Commonly caught on both sport and troll gear. Important species in the sport fishery from Washington to California.

black bass, black snapper, sea bass, salt and pepper

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Body black with yellow blotches and spotting.

To 39 cm (15 inches).

Eureka, CA to Baja, California

Shallow waters to 20 fm. Common in kelp beds and rocky water areas.

Occasionly found in waters off Southern Oregon.

Picture: Nick Wilsman, ODFW

Body and fins uniformly dark red. Black on gill membranes, inside of mouth and often on tips of fins. Adults are large.

To 61 cm (24 inches).

Washington to central Baja California.

Deepwater species, soft bottom. 120 to 420 fm.

Black gill membranes.

Blackmouth rockfish, Deepsea rockfish

Picture: Lauth, NMFS

Blue or black body color with vague striping on forehead. Lighter ventrally. Dark fins and large pectoral fins. Anal fin slants.

Sitka, Alaska, to northern Baja California. Schooling rockfish, off bottom over reffs and pinnacles.

Surface to 300 fm. (common in depths of 0 to 50 fm).

Somtimes confused with S. melanops

sea bass, priestfish

Picture: Brandon Ford, ODFW

Olive brown on back, pink on sides. Lower jaw is long and extends behind eye. Short 2nd anal fin spine.

To 91 cm (36 inches).

Stepovak Bay, Alaska Peninsula, to Punta Blanca, Baja California.

0 to 260 fm. (usually 40 to 175 fm).

An important fish in the California commercial fishery. Very similar to S. brevispinis. which has a long 2nd anal fin spine. Symphyseal knob is less prominent for bocaccio.

rock salmon, salmon grouper

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Bright yellow to orange mottled on a gray background gives body appearance of orange color. Fins orange, 3 orange stripes across head, gray along lateral line. Scales on lower jaw smooth.

To 76 cm (30 inches).

Gulf of Alaska south of Shelikof Strait, Alaska, to Cape Colnett, Baja California.

0-232 fm (usually 50-110 fm) over hard bottom.

A schooling fish, common along the OR, WA and British Columbia coasts. High flesh quality makes it a commercially important species.

orange rockfish

Picture: Bob Swingle, ODFW. Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Pinkish red to copper pink, white ventrally, pink fins. Lateral line in red zone. Second anal spine short, edge of small anal fin slants posteriorly. Chin projects outward. No spine on edge of gillraker.

To 56 cm (22 inches).

Queen Charlotte Sound, British Columbia, to Magdalena Bay, Baja California.

Surface to 232 fm.

Commercially important in California.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Blue or black body color, mottled with yellow. Broad yellow stripe starting on 3rd dorsal spine and running along the side. Head spines thick, parietal ridges very high and thick. Mouth small.

To 45 cm (18 inches).

Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska, to San Miguel Island, California. Often found in crevices.

2 to 70 fm.. More common in waters less than 50 fm on rocky reefs.

A shallow water rockfish. Important in domestic Asian markets.

yellowstripe rockfish

Picture: Brandon Ford, ODFW

Variable coloration, dark brown or olive brown to copper with pink or yellow blotches, white undersides. Dorsal fins dark copper brown to black with some white. Rear two thirds of lateral line is light. Fish from South of Point Blanco, OR often have more pronounced (deeply incised) spines and have orange-pink and coppery-yellow coloration and a dark vee behind the eye.

To 58 cm (23 inches).

Gulf of Alaska to Baja, California

Shallow waters to 100 fm. Common in rocky, shallow water areas.

Common inshore rockfish.

Whitebelly rockfish

Picture: Brandon Ford, ODFW

Yellowish-red with pink fins. Several faint vertical bars on sides of adults. Yellow with dark bars in juveniles. Very wide suborbital bone. Deeply incised dorsal fin in adults.

Mostly found off California

11 to 200 fm.

cowfish, roosterfish

Picture: Courtesy of Uber, NMFS

Deep bodied, pinkish with 5 dark patches on back (3 under spinous dorsal fin, 1 under soft dorsal fin, 1 under caudal peduncle). Second anal fin spine shorter than third.

To 58 cm (23 inches).

Bering Sea to Santa Catalina Island, california.

14 to 328 fm.

blackblotched rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Stout body. Olive brown to reddish brown, mottled with pale areas of white to pink (flesh colored). Lower lip is orange

To 42.5 cm (17 inches).

Rocky areas from Cape Blanco, OR to Southern Baja California.

to 40 fm., more common below 40 ft.

Very similar to black-and-yellow rockfish genetically, in behavior and in life history. Markings are also similar, but black and yellow adult color is olivaceous to black in dark portion, yellow in light sections and it has a gray lower lip.

Butterball, butter bass, red garrupa, spotted rock bass.

Picture: Nick Wilsman, ODFW
Text: The Rockfish of the Northeast Pacific by Love, Yoklavich and Thorsteinson.

Dark green above; mottled with lighter green or gray on side. Fins dark. Lower pectoral fin rays pinkish in some adults. Gill rakers on 1st arch short and blunt.

To 56 cm (22 inches).

Yaquina Bay, OR to Baja California.

Usually less than 25 fm.

Common on rocky bottom in tidepools and near shore.

Scomoda

Picture: William Barss, ODFW

Yellow pink body and fins with bright green spots and vermiculations on the back and top of head, whitish blotches on back.

To 51 cm (20 inches).

Washington to Baja California.

27 to 150 fm.

Similar to rosethorn rockfish which does not have green spots.

chucklehead, Santa Maria

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Bill Barss, ODFW

Pinkish yellow with 3 or 4 horizontal green stripes on body, light ventrally. Green streaks on caudal fin membranes, slender body. Long 2nd anal fin spine.

To 39 cm (15 inches).

Chirikof and Montague Islands, Alaska, to Cedros Island, Baja California.
Preference for mixture of mud and rock bottom.

14 to 232 fm.

Occasionally caught on longline gear in southeast Alaska.

cucumber, striped rockfish.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Slender body. Pink to red with irregular dark markings interrupted by lighter band along two thirds of lateral line. Caudal fin has dark membranes and pink or red band terminating fin. Anal fin has black between second and third spines. Tip of spinous dorsal fin black.

To 38 cm (15 inches).

Bowers Bank and Petrel Bank, Aleutian Islands, to Cobb Seamount off Oregon

38 to 305 fm.

Too small to be of high commercial value.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW; Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Dark red body color with dark gray mottling and orange flecks. Fourteen spines in dorsal fin. Weakly developed head spines, second anal fin spine as long as third. Top of head convex between eyes.

To 41 cm (16 inches).

Bering Sea to Stalemate Bank off Graham Island, British Columbia.

0 to 342 fm.

The only rockfish in the eastern Gulf of Alaska with 14 instead of 13 dorsal spines. Resembles S. alutus which has a longer lower jaw and a very prominent symphyseal knob.

Picture: ODFW, Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Bright to light red, dark areas below back, mouth pink.Lower jaw with prominent forward directed symphyseal knob. Short 2nd anal spine.

To 51 cm (20 inches).

Honshu, Japan, into Bering Sea, along aleutian Islands, and south to La Jolla, California. Schooling fish, abundant offshore.

Surface to 451 fm (most occur in 80 to 200 fm).

Very important commercially in the waters off the northwest Pacific, landed by domestic and foreign trawlers. Stocks suffered severe population decline due to overharvesting.

POP, longjaw rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Reddish brown to copper with dark blotches, fading to whitish ventrally. Red mouth, light fins, anal fin rounded. Very small rockfish.

To 18 cm (7 inches).

Prince William sound, Alaska, to Punta Gorda, California. Schools over rocky reefs.

0 to 200 fm.

Very small. Improtant prey for other rockfishes, particularly S. ruberrimus.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW; Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

A small rockfish, light brown tinged in red, lighter below. Four dark blotches along dorsal fin, dark pigment extends from back onto fin, may be vague. Brownish red stripe on lateral line. Coloration distinctly darker dorsally than ventrally.

To 23 cm (9 inches).

Northern Gulf of Alaska to Baja California.

16 to 150 fm.

An offshore species of no commercial importance due to small size.

slender rockfish, Wilson's rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW; Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Slate-brown mottled with yellow and orange. Deeply incised membranes on spinous dorsal fin. Strong head spines. Orange or brown mottling ventrally on head and anterior part of body. First dorsal fin with yellow streak. Deeply incised spinous dorsal fin.

To 61 cm (24 inches).

Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound, Alaska, to Point Sur, California. Rocky bottom and reefs.

0 to 150 fm.

Preference for rocky bottom within the 50 fm edge, relative abundance decreases with increasing depth below 40 fm. Important commercially in southeast Alaska and British Columbia.

orange-spotted rockfish

Picture: Bob Swingle, ODFW; Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Light pink to red with four darker red vertical bars on body (one on caudal peduncle). Bars more prominent on smaller fish. First bar extends from front of first dorsal fin to base of pectoral fin.

To 64 cm (25 inches).

Bering Sea and Amchitka Island, Alaska, to San Diego, California.

Deepwater species, caught in 50 to 342 fm.

Coloration similar to S. rubrivinctus (which does not commonly occur north of California).

barber pole

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW; Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Light red mottled with olive on back, lower sides flushed with yellow. Light red stripe along lateral line. Darkened lips, red fins with some light green or yellow. Very shallow notch in dorsal fin.

To 51 cm (20 inches).

Bering Sea and Amchitka Island, Alaska, to San Diego, California.

7 to 232 fm (most common at 70 to 150 fm.)

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Orange or yellow with greenish mottling dorsally, lighter ventrally. Four to 5 squarish white spots tinged or bordered with light pink on back. Long 2nd anal fin spine. A small rockfish.

To 41 cm (16 inches).

Kodiak Island, Alaska, to guadalupe Island, Baja California.

40 to 300 fm.

Similar to Greenspotted rockfish except is without green spots.

Picture: Brandon Ford, ODFW

Body color dark red and washed with yellow on blue sides. Four or five clear whitish blotches on sides. Purple bar across naupe behind eyes.

Length to 51 cm (20 inches).

Washington and Cobb Seamount to Baja California

27 to 150 fm.

Specimen above is from 150 fm near Cobb Seamount.

corsair, dude

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Red rockfish becoming pink on sides. Red fins, may have black edges. Identifiable by the 2 to 10 small spines below the eye on rim of orbit.

To 97 cm (38 inches).

Japan into Bering Sea, throughout Aleutian Islands, and south to San Diego, California.

Deepwater, 14 to 478 fm, on bottom.

Usually found in offshore waters.

blacktip rockfish, buoy keg

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Pink to yellow pink, yellowish pink on sides, light below. With 5 to 6 vague dark markings on back, v-shaped dusky marking from eye to gill cover. Second anal fin spine longer than third. No spine on edge of gill cover.

To 39 cm (15 inches).

Semisopochnoi Island, Aleutian Islands, to San Diego, California. Soft bottom.

14 to 260 fm.

Similar to Pacific Ocean Perch which has a short second anal fin spine.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Slender, elongate body. Olive-pink above becoming light pink on sides. Vent halfway between anal fin and pelvic fin.

To 32 cm (13 inches).

La Perouse Bank, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Benito Island, Baja California. Large schools.

Offshore and off bottom, 0 to 191 fm.

One of the smaller species of rockfish. Very abundant in California waters. Does not occur in the Gulf of Alaska. An important prey item for other fishes and seabirds.

slender rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Reddish pink to orange red. Mouth red and may have black blotches. Adults large. Short gill rakers on first gill arch.

To 108 cm (43 inches).

Southeast Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, in Bering Sea, and along Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, California.

Deepwater species, 100 to 478 fm, on bottom.

Pores on lower jaw very large. Similar to S. aleutianus which has 2 to 10 spines below eye rather than 0 to 1 for S. borealis and long gill rakers on 1st arch.

buoy keg, grouper

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Greenish to silver gray, white tinged with orange or pink ventrally. Black lips, lower jaw long and protruding beyond upper jaw.

To 71 cm (28 inches).

Bering Sea to Baja California.

Surface to 205 fm.

Similar to S. paucispinis which has shorter 2nd anal fin spine. S. brevispinis has 17 or 18 pectoral fin rays, 7 or rarely 8 anal fin rays, and 33 to 36 total gill rakers. The numbers for S. paucispinis. are 14 to 16, 8 to 10, and 27 to 32. Smyphyseal knob is more prominent in silvergray.

rock salmon, shortspine rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Orange-brown or tan above, yellow tan below, tips of jaws and lower fin membranes blackened, covered with small black spots.

To 56 cm (22 inches).

Oregon to Baja California.

17-200 fm.

widow, zipola, brownfish, beccafico

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW; Text: Bill Barss

Red rockfish, silver ventrally. Toothed knob at front of each upper jaw, deep notch between jaws.

to 46 cm (18 inches).

Alaska Peninsula and Prince William sound, Alaska, to Cedros Island, Baja California, and Gulf of California.

Offshore, surface to 437 fm (most often at 50 to 250 fm).

Identified by the concave outline of the upper jaw.

splitlip, rosefish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Yellowish-pink, silvery ventrally. Green streaks on caudal fin. Dusky saddles on back, may be vague. Long 2nd anal fin spine. Two sharply hooked spines above upper jaw.

To 41 cm (16 inches).

Yakutat Bay, Alaska, to Rompiente Point, Baja California.

5 to 299 fm (most common 80-150 fm).

Similar to sharpchin rockfish which does not have hooked spines above upper jaw nor spines on edge of gill cover.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Light pink to red with 5 dark vertical stripes on body. Stripes my be red to black in color. Head spins thick, parietal ridges very thick and coarse.

To 61 cm (24 inches).

Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound, Alaska, to Point Buchon, California. Rocky reefs and boulder fields.

5 to 150 fm.

Solitary, may be territorial.

banded rockfish, black-banded rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW.
Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Dark vermilion red dorsally. Red sides mottled with gray. Red mouth and fins, with fins often edged with black. Three obscure orange stripes radiating from each eye. Deep caudal peduncle. Rough, scaly lower jaw.

To 76 cm (30 inches).

Southeast Alaska to Baja California.

100 to 150 fathoms.

Distinguished in the field from S. pinniger and S. ruberrimus by rough scales on lower jaw and vermilion red coloration.

Red Snapper

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Brassy brown to dusky, lighter ventrally. Membranes of fins dark (lighter on spinous dorsal). Caudal peduncle is narrow. Anal fin has a strong posterior slant. Strongly rounded (convex) for head.

To 59 cm (23 inches).

Middle Albatross Bank off Kodiak Island, Alaska, to Todos Santos Bay, Baja California.

Schooling near surface to 300 fm.

Very important commercially in midwater trawl fishery off waters from Washington to California.

brownie, brown bomber, soft brown

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Orange red to orange yellow, bright yellow eye, fins may be black at tips. Rasp-like ridges above eye. Adults usually have light band on lateral line (line may be white). Juveniles have two light bands, one on lateral line and one shorter line below lateral line. A large rockfish.

To 91 cm (36 inches).

Umnak Island and Prince William Sound, Alaska, to Ensenada, Baja California. Rocky reefs and boulder fields.

8 to 300 fm.

Declared "overfished" (National Marine Fisheries Service)

rasphead, red snapper

Picture: Bob Swingle; Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Red-orange with dark blotches. Mouth pinkish white with yellow and black blotches. Pinkish lateral line, 3 vague dark bands across head. Long lower jaw with moderate, wide smyphyseal knob. 2nd anal fin spike shorter than 3rd.

To 58 cm (23 inches).

Northern Gulf of Alaska to Crecent City, California.

75 to 200 fm (usually 100 to 200 fm) over rough bottom.

Similar to Pacific Ocean Perch which has pointed symphyseal knob and pink mouth.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Olive green to dusky-brown with some light mottling dorsally. Light ventrally. Fins yellow. Rear edge of anal fin vertical or with slight anterior slant. Head spines weak.

To 66 cm (26 inches).

Unalaska Island, Alaska, to San Diego, California. Schooling rockfish.

Surface to 300 fm.

Often caught on both troll and sport gear.

greenie, green snapper

Pictures: Bill Barss, ODFW and OSU submersible cruise.