Black Rockfish

Sebastes melanops

Photo contributed by: Daniel W. Gotshall To email him click here.

Aquaculture Potential The black rockfish, along with many other species of rockfish, have experienced overfishing in the Pacific Northwest. As regulations limit fishing wild stock and as interest increases in repopulating rockfish habitat, this species may gain further interest for aquaculture application. It could be raised for commercial and/or remediation purposes. However, when this species is held in tanks for the live fishery market it is difficult to maintain the health of the animal after three to four days in captivity (Barnes 2003).

Opportunity Constraints A large wild fishery exists, but catch may be further regulated. Valuable in the live fishery market Late age at maturity 3–13 (Stein and Hassler 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995, Love 1996)

In-depth Information Regarding this Species

Alternate Common Names	N/A
U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean	Alaska to Southern California (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Habitat	Off and on bottom Rocky reefs (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Substrate	N/A
Depth range (meters)	Surface to 366 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Midwater and surface dwelling (Love 1996)
Behavior	Schools (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Schools in the thousands (Love 1996)
General Temperature Range (°C)	8–18 (Boehlert and Yoklavich 1983 in Stickney et al. 1995)
General Salinity Range (ppt)	N/A
Maximum Overall Recorded Size (cm)	63.5 (Love 1996)
Maximum Recorded Size for Males (cm)	N/A
Maximum Recorded Size for Females (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length (cm)	60 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Average Maximum Overall Length for Males (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length for Females (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum weight (kg)	4.8 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Average Maximum weight for Males (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum weight for Females (cm)	N/A
Length When Harvested (cm)	N/A
Weight When Harvested (kg)	N/A
Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	N/A
Male Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	N/A
Female Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	N/A
Overall Maximum Age (years)	Oldest found was 36 (Love 1996)
Maximum Age for Males (years)	N/A
Maximum Age for Females (years)	N/A
Age when Harvested (years)	N/A
Overall Growth Rate	N/A
Male Growth Rate	N/A
Female Growth Rate	N/A
Overall Age at Maturity (years)	9–13 Alaska 6–7 California (Love 1996) 3 (some) 10 (all) (Stein and Hassler 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Male Age at Maturity (years)	N/A
Female Age at Maturity (years)	N/A
Overall Length at Maturity (cm)	45.7 (50% mature in Alaska) 35.5–40.5 (50% mature in California) (Love 1996) 25 (some) 43 (all) (Stein and Hassler 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Male Length at Maturity (cm)	Males are mature at smaller size (Love 1996)
Female Length at Maturity (cm)	N/A
Maturity/Temperature Relationship	N/A
Type of Reproduction	Viviparous (Love 1996)
Fecundity	N/A
Spawning Habitat	N/A
Spawning Behavior	Female stores sperm for a few months prior to fertilization (Love 1996)
Time of Year of Spawning	Winter and Spring (Love 1996)
Number of Spawns per season	Most rockfish spawn one time per year (Stein and Hassler, 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Spawning/Temperature Relationship (°C)	N/A
Spawning/Salinity Relationship	N/A
Description of Eggs	0.8 mm in diameter (Boehlert and Yoklavich 1984 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Habitat where Eggs are found	N/A
Days to Hatch	37 (Boehlert and Yoklavich 1984 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Time of Year when Eggs Hatch	N/A
Temperature for Egg Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Egg Survival (ppt)	N/A
Predators on Eggs	N/A
Habitat where Larvae are found	Pelagic, offshore (Boehlert and Yoklavich 1983 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Days in Larval Stage	N/A
Temperature for Larval Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Larval Survival (ppt)	N/A
Larval Food Preference	N/A
Habitat where Juveniles are found	Shallow (tidepools and kelp beds) (Love 1996) Benthic (Stein and Hassler 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Length when Juvenile Settles out (cm)	Recruit to nearshore at around 6 months old (Boehlert and Yoklavich 1983 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Temperature for Juvenile Survival (°C)	8–18 (Stein and Hassler 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Salinity for Juvenile Survival (ppt)	N/A
Where and When Juvenile Feeds	N/A
Juvenile Food Preference	Fish larvae and Mysid Shrimp (Love 1996)
Habitat where Adults are found (depth in meters)	N/A
Temperature for Adult Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Adult Survival (ppt)	N/A
Adult Feeding Type	N/A
Adult Food Preference	Fish (Love 1996) Herring and other small, schooling fish (Rosenthal 1988 in Stickney et al. 1995) Fish, Salps, Mysids, Crab megalops (Stein and Hassler 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995) Pacific herring, Pacific sand lance, Crab larvae, Jellyfish (Washington et al. 1978 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting	N/A
Amount of Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting	N/A
Additional Laboratory Findings	N/A
Environmental Considerations	N/A
Commercial Fishery	Important fishery from Oregon to Southern Alaska (Love 1996)
Market	N/A
Sold Fresh or Frozen	N/A
Style Species is Sold	Fillets (Love 1996)
Additional Use of the Species	N/A
Shelf-life in Fresh State (days at 40°F)	Fillets do not have the longevity of other rockfish species (Love 1996)
Shelf-life in Frozen State (months at 0°F)	N/A
Shelf-life Canned (months)	N/A
Weight sold in Oregon (kg)	N/A
Ornamental Market	N/A
Parasites or Disease	N/A
Additional Remarks	Most rockfish are venomous (poison glands on fin spines) but only painful to humans and not deadly (Stein and Hassler, 1989 in Stickney et al. 1995).
Location where Species has been Researched/Farmed	N/A
Appropriate Aquaculture Systems	N/A

Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Year	Total Catch (Pounds)	Ex-vessel Value ( U.S. Dollars)
1989	N/A	N/A
1990	N/A	N/A
1991	N/A	N/A
1992	N/A	N/A
1993	N/A	N/A
1994	208,238	88,888
1995	220,191	118,025
1996	309,746	153,671
1997	398,630	206,172
1998	435,486	203,956

Photo contributed by: Douglas F. Markle Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Oregon State University

© 2003 Stephen Sempier