Greenstriped Rockfish
Rocote Reina
(Sebastes elongatus)

Greenstriped Rockfish, Sebastes elongatus: The Greenstriped Rockfish is a slim bodied fish that is a very easy species to identify due to its distinctive color pattern of four horizontal green stripes on a pink-red background.

The Greenstriped Rockfish reaches 16 inches in length and is found as a solitary animal resting on the sea floor between 330 and 800 feet deep in the water column near small rocks.

The Greenstriped Rockfish is a benthic species, rarely ascending more than a couple of meters above the sea floor. It is long lived, reaching 54 years of age.

Little is known about the food habits of this fish species, but it is assumed that it consumes copepods, krill and a variety of zooplankton. It is a favorite food of King Salmon.

The Greenstriped Rockfish possesses small glands that secrete venom in the anal, dorsal and pelvic spines.

Along the Pacific Coast the Greenstriped Rockfish ranges from the Gulf of Alaska to Cedros Island, central Baja California at 28.03 degrees north latitude.

It is taken as a commercial fish species from British Columbia to southern California via trawl, gillnets and hook-and-line, and it is sold in Asian markets in Southern California.

For recreational anglers this fish is an occasional catch. The majority caught are discarded due to their small sizes. When processed the Greenstriped Rockfish has a short shelf life.

The Greenstriped Rockfish is a member of the Scorpaenidae Family and Sebastes Genus which in Mexico are known as rocotes.

Greenstriped Rockfish picture

Greenstriped Rockfish, Sebastes elongatus: Caught during fishing out of 600-foot deep water at the 9.5 mile bank off Point Loma, Calif., in April 2008, by Eddie Kisfaludy, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif. Size 24 cm. Fish identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif. Photo and description courtesy of John Snow.

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