Widow Rockfish
Sebastes entomelas
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Photo by:
Milton Love
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Aquaculture Potential
Many 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. One characteristic that may hinder aquaculture development of this species versus other rockfish is the widow rockfish's shorter shelf-life compared to other rockfish. Also, 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).
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In-depth Information Regarding this Species
| U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean |
Alaska to Baja (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Substrate |
Over rocky reefs and hard bottom (Love 1996) |
| Depth range (meters) |
24–366 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Behavior |
School (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Can be in groups of tens of thousands of fish (Love 1996) |
| Average Maximum Overall Length (cm) |
53 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
60 (Love 1996) |
| Average Maximum Overall Length for Females (cm) |
Females grow larger than males (Love 1996) |
| Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years) |
45/15 (Love 1996) |
| Overall Maximum Age (years) |
+59 (Love 1996) |
| Overall Age at Maturity (years) |
8–9 (Love 1996) |
| Overall Length at Maturity (cm) |
43 (Love 1996) |
| Fecundity |
Over 1,000,000 (Love 1996) |
| Time of Year of Spawning |
December to May (Love 1996) |
| Habitat where Juveniles are found |
Kelp beds (Love 1996) |
| Adult Feeding Type |
Feed during the day (Love 1996) |
| Adult Food Preference |
Pelagic Crustaceans and Fish (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Krill, Crab larvae, Salps, Deep Sea Lanternfish (Love 1996) |
| Market |
Sold as rockcod, rockfish, or Pacific snapper (Love 1996) |
| Sold Fresh or Frozen |
Fresh and frozen (Love 1996) |
| Style Species is Sold |
Filleted (Love 1996) |
| Shelf-life in Fresh State (days at 40°F) |
Shorter life than other rockfish (Love 1996) |
Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
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Year
|
Total Catch
(Pounds)
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Ex-vessel Value
( U.S. Dollars)
|
|
1989
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15,236,547
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3,923,316
|
|
1990
|
12,226,558
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3,162,354
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1991
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9,664,121
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2,619,408
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1992
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11,011,727
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2,873,690
|
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1993
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14,723,070
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3,952,699
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1994
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9,728,256
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3,031,563
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1995
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8,566,311
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2,797,607
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1996
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8,372,794
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2,549,938
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1997
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11,109,047
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3,290,780
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1998
|
6,474,241
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2,259,979
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