Sebastes alutus (Gilbert, 1890)
Pacific ocean perch
Sebastes alutus
photo by Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish.

Family:  Sebastidae (Rockfishes, rockcods and thornyheads), subfamily: Sebastinae
Max. size:  53 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 2,100.0 g; max. reported age: 103 years
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 0 - 825 m
Distribution:  North Pacific: Honshu, Japan to Cape Navarin in the Bering Sea (but not in the Sea of Okhotsk) and La Jolla, California, and along the Aleutians from Stalemate Bank and Bowers Bank to the Alaska Peninsula. Stocks have suffered severe population decline due to overfishing (Ref. 27437).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 13-13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-17; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 6-9; Vertebrae: 26-26. Head spines weak - nasal, preocular, supraocular (may be absent), postocular, tympanic, parietal, and nuchal (may be absent) spines present, coronal spine absent (Ref. 27437). Long lower jaw with prominent forward directed symphyseal knob (Ref. 27437). Posterior margin of caudal indented (Ref. 6885). Bright to light red, usually with dark markings dorsally, may have some dark stippling on sides and dark blotch on caudal peduncle (Ref. 27437).
Biology:  Abundant in offshore waters (Ref. 2850). Young pelagic up to age 3 (Ref. 6885). Grows slowly (Ref. 2850). Viviparous (Ref. 34817). Very important commercial rockfish in the North Pacific (Ref. 2850, 27437). Marketed as fillets (Ref. 2850). Utilized fresh and frozen; eaten fried, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.