Bocaccio Rockfish

Bocaccio Rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis) Fish Description

Bocaccio Rockfish, also well-known as the salmon grouper, grouper, or tomcod, as juveniles, have olive, brownish-orange, or brown backs and pink and red stomachs as adults. 

But as juveniles, the Bocaccio rockfish have light bronze bodies with small brown spots on their sides, but as they grow older their coloration darkens and loses their spots.

They are most distinguishable by their long jaws extending to or past their eye socket. 

Diet and Size

The Bocaccio Rockfish diet consists of varying marine life, such as shellfish, like crabs and shrimps, anchovies, sardines, squid, and other small rockfishes. 

Being one of the larger rockfish, they can grow in lengths up to 3ft. And weigh up to 21 lbs. The Bocaccio Rockfish can also live for as long as 45 years.

Interesting Facts about Bocaccio Rockfish

• The scientific name of the Bocaccio rockfish stems from the Greek word, “Sebastes” meaning "magnificent", and “paucispinis,” Latin for "having few spines".
• The Monterey submarine canyon is the home or migration point for plenty of different types of marine organisms, and one of which is the Bocaccio rockfish where it has access to consume varied marine species.

Bocaccio Rockfish - Fishing Techniques

The Bocaccio rockfish can often be caught through trawling, gillnetting, and also hook and line. Fishing for a rockfish, at times you would only need to use a light tackle and a small hook bait rig. No bait is required, sometimes, but to make it more appealing a small strip of squid would do the trick.

Older and larger Bocaccio rockfish are now observed to be staying in deeper, colder waters because the deepest fishermen can fish is about at the depths of 240 ft.

With the current status of the Bocaccio rockfish being overfished for the past decade, due to commercial fishermen targeting this fish for its shelf life and then abundance, the California Department of Fish and Game has set a limit regulating the catches for Bocaccio rockfish to 2 per day, at a minimum length of 10 in.

Habitat and Distribution

Bocaccio rockfish have been found in varying depths from the surface, even reaching up to 1,568 ft., but predominantly live between 150 to 1,000 ft. Juvenile Bocaccios stay in more shallow waters for the protection coming from the floating kelp mats or driftwood, as shallow waters like kelp forests assist these rockfish in avoiding danger by using them for dodging and hiding from other predators. 

They can be recurrently found within the range between Oregon and northern Baja California. But including Punta Blanca, the Gulf of Alaska off of Krozoff and Kodiak Islands.

Two partially isolated populations for the Bocaccio rockfish include is firstly the southern population centered in California and, secondly, the northern population centered in British Columbia.