Bocaccio rockfish, salmon rockfish • Sebastes paucispinis
{Sebastes = venerable; pauci = few, spinis = spine}
Juvenile bocaccio rockfish photographed by Kaia Bryce (left) and Kelly Fretwell.
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Identification
The bocaccio can be identified by its large mouth — 'bocaccio' means large mouth in Italian — as well as the knob that protrudes off the tip of its lower jaw. Its thickened lower jaw extends at least as far back as the eye sockets. It has a concave "forehead" in profile which gives its head a pointed shape. Adults are burnt reddish-orange to olive brown in colour; juveniles are light bronze with small brown spots speckling their sides. The bocaccio is a large rockfish, reaching nearly 1 m in length.
Habitat & Range
Young bocaccio rockfish can be found in shallow waters around rocky reefs and the canopy of kelp beds, as well as around docks, piers, and floats. In general they move towards deeper water as they age; adults may be found around deep reefs and open bottomed-habitats to depths of 320 m or more. Adults are most common from 50 to 250 m deep. This species' range extends from the Alaskan Peninsula to Baja California, Mexico.
Intriguing Info
The maximum age for females of this species is 52 years, with a generation time of 20 years. As with many rockfish species, these life history traits make the bocaccio rockfish particularly susceptible to overfishing. Populations levels are extremely depleted after declining for 60 years: this species is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List and Endangered COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), but is not protected under Canada's Species At Risk Act. Read more in the 2013 COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report.
While the bocaccio's low numbers mean it is no longer a main fishing target, it is often caught in as bycatch by commercial trawlers, or as a non-target species in a multi-species fishery. Rockfish caught as bycatch usually do not survive if caught in water 20 m, due to injuries from barotrauma. Further reduction of numbers through bycatch is the main threat to this species, and even if all threats were removed population recovery would take many years. Recreational fishing could also have a significant impact on numbers.
Concerns about rockfish population levels have led to the creation of Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) in inshore locations along the BC coast. See the Living Oceans Society map of RCAs and Fisheries and Oceans Canada for more information on these areas.
Rockfish are often mislabeled as red snapper, Pacific snapper, and rock cod in both markets and restaurants.
The bocaccio can be identified by its large mouth — 'bocaccio' means large mouth in Italian — as well as the knob that protrudes off the tip of its lower jaw. Its thickened lower jaw extends at least as far back as the eye sockets. It has a concave "forehead" in profile which gives its head a pointed shape. Adults are burnt reddish-orange to olive brown in colour; juveniles are light bronze with small brown spots speckling their sides. The bocaccio is a large rockfish, reaching nearly 1 m in length.
Habitat & Range
Young bocaccio rockfish can be found in shallow waters around rocky reefs and the canopy of kelp beds, as well as around docks, piers, and floats. In general they move towards deeper water as they age; adults may be found around deep reefs and open bottomed-habitats to depths of 320 m or more. Adults are most common from 50 to 250 m deep. This species' range extends from the Alaskan Peninsula to Baja California, Mexico.
Intriguing Info
The maximum age for females of this species is 52 years, with a generation time of 20 years. As with many rockfish species, these life history traits make the bocaccio rockfish particularly susceptible to overfishing. Populations levels are extremely depleted after declining for 60 years: this species is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List and Endangered COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), but is not protected under Canada's Species At Risk Act. Read more in the 2013 COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report.
While the bocaccio's low numbers mean it is no longer a main fishing target, it is often caught in as bycatch by commercial trawlers, or as a non-target species in a multi-species fishery. Rockfish caught as bycatch usually do not survive if caught in water 20 m, due to injuries from barotrauma. Further reduction of numbers through bycatch is the main threat to this species, and even if all threats were removed population recovery would take many years. Recreational fishing could also have a significant impact on numbers.
Concerns about rockfish population levels have led to the creation of Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) in inshore locations along the BC coast. See the Living Oceans Society map of RCAs and Fisheries and Oceans Canada for more information on these areas.
Rockfish are often mislabeled as red snapper, Pacific snapper, and rock cod in both markets and restaurants.
References
COSEWIC. (2013). COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Bocaccio Sebastes paucispinis in
Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa.
Lamb, A. and Edgell, P. Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Revised. (2010). Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. Pp. 164-165.
NOAA Fisheries. (2014). Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis). NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. Accessed 18/09/2015.
Froese, R. and Luna, S. M. Sebastes paucispinis Ayres, 1854. FishBase. Accessed 18/09/2015.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
COSEWIC. (2013). COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Bocaccio Sebastes paucispinis in
Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa.
Lamb, A. and Edgell, P. Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Revised. (2010). Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. Pp. 164-165.
NOAA Fisheries. (2014). Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis). NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. Accessed 18/09/2015.
Froese, R. and Luna, S. M. Sebastes paucispinis Ayres, 1854. FishBase. Accessed 18/09/2015.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
