Quillback Rockfish

At a glance

Quillback Rockfish (Sebastes maliger) is a bony-fish species regulated in 7 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

The strictest bag limit is 1 (Alaska); the most generous is 10 (Alaska).

Confirmed by 1,325 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with British Columbia, Alaska, and Washington the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Quillback rockfish can live up to 95 years, among the longest-lived of all rockfish.
• They are named for the sharp, prominent spines along their dorsal fin.
• Adults have dark brown bodies flecked with orange or yellow spots.
• They are typically solitary and territorial, holding small home ranges on rocky reefs.
• Adults can reach about 24 inches in length.

Where Quillback Rockfish are seen

• British Columbia897 iNat obs
• Alaska285 iNat obs
• Washington99 iNat obs
• Oregon26 iNat obs
• California18 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Quillback Rockfish

• AlaskaUnited States · official source
• British ColumbiaCanada · official source
• CaliforniaUnited States · official source
• WashingtonUnited States · official source

Background

The quillback rockfish, also known as the quillback seaperch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. This species primarily dwells in salt water reefs. The average adult weighs 2–7 pounds and may reach 1 m in length. Quillback rockfish are named for the sharp, venomous quills or spines on the dorsal fin. Their…

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Quillback Rockfish article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other bony fish on CatchRules

• PumpkinseedLepomis gibbosus
• Northern PikeEsox lucius
• Moorish IdolZanclus cornutus
• PerchPerca fluviatilis