A solitary copper rockfish over rocky substrate.

Contact: SWFSC Fisheries Resources Division, Benthic Resources Team

Species data:
Copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus) are relatively deep bodied and spiny. Older juveniles and adults exhibit a wide range of blotchy colors, although the light-colored strip along the rear two-thirds of the lateral line is constant. Several copper orange, brown, or yellowish bars radiate back from the eyes.

Coppers range from the northern Gulf of Alaska to central Baja California, found from barely subtidal waters to 183 meters. They have been an important commercial species from southeast Alaska to San Diego, and form a major part of the shallow-water recreational rockfish catch from the Gulf of Alaska to central California.

Alternate common names: Whitebelly, chucklehead.
Maximum size: 66 cm (26.4 inches).
Maximum age: At least 50 years.

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