Tiger Rockfish
Sebastes nigrocinctus
To 2’ (60 cm) long. Pink to red with 5 vertical dark bands. Solitary and territorial, 3–900’ (1–270 m) deep.
Black Rockfish
Sebastes melanops
To 25” (62.5 cm) long. Light to dark grey with dark mottling along upper back and a pale band below lateral line. In schools, often with other rockfish, surface to 1,200’ (360 m) deep.
Yellowtail Rockfish
Sebastes flavidus
To 26” (65 cm) long. Olive green to green-brown with pale spots along back, yellow-green on fins. In schools, surface to 1,800’ (540 m) deep.
Canary Rockfish
Sebastes pinniger
To 30” (75 cm) long. Orange body (A) with white to grey stripe along lateral line, 3 bright stripes across head. Juvenile (B) has a prominent dark spot at rear of spiny dorsal fin. In schools, rocky reefs, 60–1,200’ (18–360 m) deep.
Lingcod, Greenlings (Bony Fishes)
Lingcod
Ophiodon elongatus
To 5’ (1.5 m) long. Weight to 105 lb. (47 kg). Large head, mouth and teeth. Long, tapered body with dark blotches, mottled grey, brown or green. Male guards egg masses in shallows. In kelp beds and on rocky reefs to 6,600’(1,980 m) deep.
Kelp Greenling
Hexagrammos decagrammos
To 2’ (60 cm) long. Male (A) brown-olive with bright blue spots, female (B) light brown, golden to blue, with rows of round orange-brown spots. Small, bushy appendage above each eye. Male guards pale blue to mauve egg mass. In kelp beds and rocky areas, intertidal to 150’ (45 m) deep.
Painted Greenling
Oxylebius pictus
To 10” (25 cm) long. Long, pointed head with 2 pairs of bushy appendages. Dark vertical bars cross body and dorsal fin. Male guards orange egg mass. Sometimes associate with white-spotted anemone (p. 72). On rocky reefs to 162’ (49 m) deep.
Perches (Bony Fishes)
Shiner Perch
Cymatogaster aggregata
To 6” (15 cm) long. Small, silvery oval body, compressed, with large scales. Strong dark bars along sides, interrupted by 3 yellow vertical bars. In schools around pilings and floats and in kelp beds, surface to 480’ (144 m) deep.
Striped Perch
Embiotica lateralis
To 15” (37.5 cm) long. Copper-coloured with about 15 iridescent blue horizontal stripes below lateral line. Common, solitary or in schools, near surface to 70’ (21 m) deep.
Pile Perch
Rhacochilus vacca
To 17” (42.5 cm) long. Silvery, usually with dark, indistinct vertical bars. Black spot behind mouth. Deeply forked tail fin. Around floats, pilings and reefs, surface to 260’ (78 m) deep.
Other Common Bony Fishes
Black-Eye Goby
Rhinogobiops nicholsi
To 6” (15 cm) long. Black eyes, black patch at top of forward dorsal fin. Pale to dark tan-orange body with large scales. Territorial, in rock rubble, intertidal to 340’ (102 m) deep.
Northern Ronquil
Ronquilis jordani
To 7” (17.5 cm) long. Elongated body with orange bands or spots below the eyes. Orange-cream to brown, olive green and grey. Long, single dorsal fin. In rock rubble, 10–540’ (3–162 m) deep.
Northern Clingfish
Gobiesox maeandricus
To 6” (15 cm) long. Large head and flattened body; adhesive disc on underside. Dark, net-like pattern over body, often with pale band between and below eyes. On undersides of rocks, intertidal to 30’ (9 m) deep.
Plainfin Midshipman
Porichthys notatus
To 15” (37.5 cm) long. Large mouth and head, tapered body (A). Dark grey-brown to purple with rows of luminous white spots. Female deposits and male guards yellow-orange clusters of eggs (B) under intertidal rocks. On sand–mud, intertidal to 1,200’ (360 m). At low tide, males are sometimes heard “humming” a low song.
Warbonnets, Wolf Eels, Gunnels
Decorated Warbonnet
Chirolophis decoratus
To 16½” (41 cm) long. Long head with large, bushy appendages centred in front of eyes to back of head. Long body, orange to brown with dark mottling and bars on fins. In crevices and sponges, 5–300’ (1.5–90 m) deep.
Mosshead Warbonnet
Chirolophis nugator
To 6” (15 cm) long. Numerous short, bushy appendages on head. Evenly spaced “eye spots” or bars along dorsal fin. In holes, crevices and empty barnacle shells, intertidal to 200’ (60 m) deep.
Crescent Gunnel
Pholis laeta
To 10” (25 cm) long. Long and eel-like. Lime-green with crescent-shaped markings along the back. Under rocks and seaweeds, intertidal to 240’ (72 m) deep.