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Rockfish

Photo copyright Chad King/SIMoN

  • There are 102 species worldwide and 65 species of rockfish off of the Pacific Coast
  • You’re How Old?!?! Many rockfish can live hundreds of years. Rougheye rockfish are the longest known living fish on earth and can live over 200 years! That means that a rockfish on your dinner plate tonight could have been alive when Lewis & Clark set out on their famous expedition to explore unknown territories in the U.S.
  • Getting Better with Age! A study on certain species of rockfish has shown that older females (known as BOFFFF – Big, Old, Fat, Fertile, Female Fish) have greater success in producing viable offspring from fertilized eggs.
  • Fishes and invertebrates grow bigger in marine reserves than in unprotected areas. This effect of marine reserves is extremely important because they protect these large fish that contribute much more to the next generation ~ yet another reason MPAs are so important.