Grass rockfish (Sebastes rastrelliger) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, rocky, seagrass, at depths of ≤ 46 m.
Scientific name: Sebastes rastrelliger · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 56 cm
The grass rockfish (Sebastes rastrelliger) is a shallow-water Sebastinae rockfish with a body depth of about a third of its standard length and a broad head with a tapering snout, native to the eastern Pacific; it is a nocturnal-ish ambush predator feeding on crustaceans and small fishes such as juvenile surfperches and midshipmen, and it lives up to about 23 years. Its range runs primarily from Cedros Island in Baja California to Yaquina Bay in Oregon, with a few reaching Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, and it is a demersal species found down to 46 m but typically shallower than 15 m, on hard structures such as reefs and among kelp beds where crevices give shelter. In the United States it is a common inshore catch for California and Oregon anglers, taken from boats and from shore and jetties over rocky structure, most easily with small baits or jigs fished into the crevices it occupies. In southern California it breeds between January and March, with half the fish mature at four years and 23.5 cm, and it reaches a maximum total length of 56 cm.
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