The blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus) or blue seaperch, is a species of rockfish of the northeastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from northern Baja California to central Oregon. Previous records further north are due to confusion with the deacon rockfish (S. diaconus ), which only was scientifically described in 2015.
Blue rockfish have a relatively smooth and oval appearance compared to other members of Sebastes, with very few head spines. Color is a bluish black to gray, with some darker mottling, including a pair of stripes angling down and back from the eye. The terminal mouths are small for rockfish. Length ranges up to 55 to 60Â cm, and weights up to 3.8Â kg.
While they have been caught at depths of over 500 m, most live near to the surface, down to 90 m.
Diet is plankton. Juveniles consume tiny crustacea such as copepods and barnacle larvae (in some cases having a significant effect on the population), while adults shift to larger types, such as free-swimming tunicates, jellyfish, gastropods, squids, young rockfish, and drifting plant fragments.
Blue rockfish were once an important part of the California fishery; they were the most common rockfish marketed in San Francisco and San Diego during the 19th century, but have since declined in popularity. They continue to be of interest as game fish, and are among the most common types landed by boat anglers; in fact, there is evidence of overfishing in Monterey Bay and southern California.
The species epithet mystinus derives from the Greek for "priest", referring to the overall dark color.
References
Monterey Rockfishing (Blue Rockfish, Striped Perch, and a Mystery Fish?) - Fishing off the Rocks in Monterey. Caught some Blues, Striped Perch, and a few of these mystery fish. Music: Enjoy by Joakim Karud.
- "Sebastes mystinus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 11 March 2006.Â
- Milton S. Love, Mary Yoklavich, Lyman K. Thorsteinson, (2002), The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific, University of California Press, pp. 215â€"218
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Sebastes mystinus" in FishBase. February 2006 version.
