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 splitnose rockfish (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, Baja California

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 symphyseal 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 with 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: 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.

Occasionally 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 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 reefs and pinnacles.

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

Very similar to deacon rockfish, and until 2014 was considered the same species. Sometimes confused with black rockfish (S. melanops)

sea bass, priestfish

Picture: ODFW

Olive brown to red on back, silvery-red to pink on sides. Lower jaw is long and extends behind eye. Short second 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 silvergray rockfish (S. brevispinis), which has a long second anal fin spine. Symphyseal knob is less prominent in bocaccio.

rock salmon, salmon grouper

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW

Light brown with dark brown mottling.  Dark brown blotch on upper part of gill cover, may be faint in large individuals.  Usually pinkish coloring on underside and fins.

To 56 cm (22in)

SE Alaska to central Baja

shallow waters and bays, nearshore and to 70 fm

may be confused with grass rockfish (have no dark blotch on gill cover, stubby gill rakers)

Picture: ODFW. Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

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: 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 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 third 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: 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 "V" 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: ODFW

Yellowish-red with pink fins. Several faint vertical bars on sides of adults. Juveniles yellow with dark bars. 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

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 reefs and pinnacles.

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

Very similar to deacon rockfish, and until 2014 was considered the same species. Sometimes confused with black rockfish (S. melanops)

sea bass, priestfish

Picture: ODFW

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

To 43 cm (17 inches)

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

To 40 fm, more common below 7 fm

Very similar to black-and-yellow rockfish genetically, in behavior and in life history. Markings are also similar, but black-and-yellow rockfish 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

Pictures: Nick Wilsman, ODFW; 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 first 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

Pictures: William Barss, ODFW; ODFW

Yellow pink body and fins, with bright green spots above lateral line and vermiculations on the back and top of head; 3-5 whitish to pink 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 4 horizontal green stripes on body. Green streaks on caudal fin membranes; slender body. Long second 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 Pacific ocean perch (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 patches below dorsal fin, mouth pink. Dark spot on gill cover. Lower jaw with prominent forward directed symphyseal knob. Short second 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. 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.

To 18 cm (7 inches)

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

0 to 200 fm

Very small. Important prey for other rockfishes, particularly yelloweye rockfish (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. Brown “freckles” on gill cover and throat.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: 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 flag rockfish (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 five squarish white spots tinged or bordered with light pink on back. Long second 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 without green spots.

Picture: ODFW

Body color red and washed with yellow. Four or five whitish blotches bordered by purple on back. Purple bar across top of head behind eyes.

Length to 51 cm (20 inches)

Washington and Cobb Seamount to Baja California

27 to 150 fm

Specimen shown 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.Long slender gill rakers on first arch. 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, club-like 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 rougheye rockfish (S. aleutianus), which has 2 to 10 spines below eye, rather than 0 to 1 for shortraker rockfish, and long gill rakers on first 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 bocaccio (S. paucispinis) which has shorter second anal fin spine. Silvergray rockfish has 17 or 18 pectoral fin rays, 7 (or rarely 8) anal fin rays, and 33 to 36 total gill rakers; the numbers for bocaccio are 14 to 16, 8 to 10, and 27 to 32. Symphyseal knob is more prominent in the silvergray rockfish.

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 to 200 fm

widow, zipola, brownfish, beccafico

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW; Text: Bill Barss

Red body, 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 to 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 spines 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. Scaly lower jaw.

To 76 cm (30 inches)

Southeast Alaska to Baja California

100 to 150 fathoms

Distinguished in the field from canary rockfish (S. pinniger) and yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) by scales on lower jaw and vermilion red coloration.

red snapper

Picture: 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. A large rockfish. Top: Adults usually have light band on lateral line (line may be white). Bottom: Juveniles have two light bands, one on lateral line and one shorter line below lateral line.

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 by the National Marine Fisheries Service

rasphead, red snapper

Pictures: Bob Swingle (adult), Linda ZumBrunnen (juvenile); 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. Second anal fin spike shorter than third.

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 a 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.