Black Bass, Columbia River Rockfish, Sea Bass, Pacific Snapper, and Black Rock Cod are just a few of the many colloquial monikers of the Black rockfish. This species exhibits a mottled gray-black back with lighter colored sides and a white belly.
They generally inhabit shallower waters out to 180 feet and can be found throughout the entire water column. Black Rock Fish like to orient to high and low relief rocky structures in heavy current areas, sometime congregating in mixed age schools and intermingling with other mid-water rockfish species. Blacks are considered to be one of the more mobile species, as shown by tagging studies, though many will inhabit a small local area. Their habitat ranges from western Alaska to Huntington Beach, California.
Black Rockfish can live to at least 50 years of age and reach a maximum length of 28 inches, weighing up to 11 pounds. According to DNA analysis, the Black rockfish’s closest relative is the Yellowtail Rockfish.
