Black surfperch (Embiotoca jacksoni) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, rocky, sand, seagrass, at depths of ≤ 46 m.
Scientific name: Embiotoca jacksoni · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 38 cm
Weight: up to 1.22 kg
The black surfperch (Embiotoca jacksoni), also called the black perch or butterlips, is a deep-bodied, laterally compressed eastern Pacific surfperch, usually uniform dark reddish brown to tan with darker vertical bars and best separated from the striped surfperch by the patch of enlarged scales between its pectoral and pelvic fins. It ranges from Fort Bragg, California, to Punta Abreojos in Baja California Sur and is found singly or in groups of three or four on rocky reefs, in eelgrass beds and kelp forests and around pier pilings, usually around 6 m deep but down to about 46 m, and it has also been recorded pushing into northern San Francisco Bay. Because it bites readily around public piers, jetties and breakwaters, it is a favourite of California shore anglers, who take it on small hooks baited with mussel, squid or shrimp, while party boats take it as part of the inshore mix. It grows to a maximum of about 38 cm and 1.2 kg, and during the summer mating season males develop a pair of nipple-like organs extending from the anal fin.
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