A brown rockfish over rocky substrate.

Contact: SWFSC Fisheries Resources Division, Benthic Resources Team

Species data:
The brown rockfish (Sebastes auriculatus) is a heavy-bodied species colored various shades of brown with dark brown, red-brown, or blackish mottling. There is a prominent dark blotch on the rear part of the gill cover, and red-brown, brown, or orangish stripes radiate back from the eyes and upper jaw.

Browns range from the Gulf of Alaska to southern Baja California, and occur from very shallow inshore water to 135 meters. They are of moderate importance to the fresh fish commercial industry, and of considerable significance in the commercial live-fish fishery. In the recreational fishery, it is of particular importance in Puget Sound and from Bodega Bay to northern Baja California.

Alternate common name: Bolina, chocolate bass.
Maximum size: 56 cm (22.4 inches).
Maximum age: At least 34 years.

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