Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Fish Management
Washington
Coastal Bottomfish
Targeted
by recreational fishermen
Cabezon
Flatfish (except Pacific halibut)
Greenlings
Lingcod
Pacific Cod
Rockfish
Sablefish
Incidental
to the recreational catch
Pacific hake
Pacific tomcod
Ratfish
Skate
Soupfin
Spiny Dogfish
Walleye Pollock
Wolf-eel
Wrymouth

How can I help reduce rockfish mortalities?

Fishery Action Notices
20 Fathom Rule (Marine Areas 3 & 4)
30 Fathom Rule (Marine Area 2)

Red Rockfish Identification Guide for the Washington Sport Fishery

Source: Guide to Northeast Pacific Rockfishes
Alaska Sea Grant

Kramer and O’Connell 1995

Click on images for enlargements.

Yelloweye Rockfish

Orange red to orange yellow, bright yellow eye, fins may be black at tips. Raspy ridges above eye. Adults usually have light band on lateral line (line may be white). Juveniles have two light bands, one on lateral line and one shorter line below lateral line.

Yelloweye Rockfish
Yelloweye Rockfish
Canary Rockfish

Bright yellow to orange mottled on a gray background gives body appearance of orange color. Fins orange, 3 orange stripes across head, gray along lateral line. Scales on lower jaw smooth.

Canary Rockfish
Canary Rockfish

Vermillion Rockfish

Dark red, sides mottled with gray. Red mouth and fins, fins often edged with black. Three obscure orange stripes radiating from each eye. Deep caudal peduncle. Rough, scaly lower jaw.

Vermillion Rockfish
Vermillion Rockfish

Bocaccio Rockfish

Olive orange to burnt orange or brown. Lower jaw is long, projects past upper jaw. A large rockfish.

Bocaccio Rockfish
Bocaccio Rockfish

Redstripe Rockfish

Light red mottled with olive on back, lower sides flushed with yellow. Light red stripe along lateral line. Darkened lips, red fins with some light green or yellow. Very shallow notch in dorsal fin.

Redstripe Rockfish
Redstripe Rockfish

Rosethorn Rockfish

Orange or yellow with greenish mottling dorsally, lighter ventrally. Four to 5 squarish white spots tinged or bordered with light pink on back. A smaller rockfish.

Rosethorn Rockfish
Rosethorn Rockfish

Copper Rockfish

Variable coloration, olive brown to copper with pink or yellow blotches, white on sides and belly. Dorsal fins dark copper brown to black with some white. Rear two thirds of lateral line is light.

Copper Rockfish
Copper Rockfish

Greenstriped Rockfish

Pinkish yellow with 3 or 4 horizontal green stripes on body, light ventrally. Green streaks on caudal fin membranes, slender body.

Greenstriped Rockfish


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