An aurora rockfish resting on the rocky seafloor.

Contact: SWFSC Fisheries Resources Division, Benthic Resources Group

Species data:
Aurora rockfish (Sebastes aurora) are white with pale pink to red saddles and blotches on their backs when underwater, changing to a more solid pink or red after capture. While little is known of their life history, individuals have been found that were age 75 years or older. It appears that both sexes mature around 5 years old.

Auroras are a deepwater slope species (81-768 m) found over both hard and soft seafloor bottoms between British Columbia and central Baja California. They are moderately important in commercial fisheries from Washington to central California.

Maximum size: 41 cm (16 inches).

From: The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific, by M.S. Love, M. Yoklavich, and L. Thorsteinson. University of California Press, 2002.