Swordspine Rockfish, Sebastes ensifer
Swordspine Rockfish, Sebastes ensifer. Fish caught from coastal waters off Tijuana, Baja California, February, 2023.. Length: 14 cm (5.5 inches). Catch, identification and photograph courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Swordspine Rockfish, Sebastes ensifer. Fish caught from coastal waters off Tijuana, Baja California, February 2022. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.
Swordspine Rockfish, Sebastes ensifer. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater San Diego area, San Diego, California, October 2014. Length: 19 cm (7.5 inches). Identification courtesy of Milton Love, University of California, Santa Barbara, Goleta, California.
The Swordspine Rockfish, Sebastes ensifer, is a member of the Rockfish and Scorpionfish or Scorpaenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as rocote espada. Globally, there are one hundred eight species in the genus Sebastes, of which fifty-three are found in Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.
The Swordspine Rockfish has a slender body with a width that is 26% to 30% of standard length. They are covered with spines and vary in color from bronze to orange, pink, or red. They have 3 to 5 pale spots on their upper back. They have a long head with a medium length snout, disproportionately large eyes, and a fairly large terminal mouth. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second being thick and exceeding long for which they are named, and 5 to 7 rays; their caudal fin is straight to lightly lunate; their dorsal fin has 13 spines and 12 to 14 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 16 to 18 rays. They have 34 to 40 gill rakers. Their body is covered with scales.
The Swordspine Rockfish is a bottom dweller that is found as individuals or in small schools and normally within rocky structures at depths between 44 m (145 feet) and 430 m (1,420 feet). They are found mixed in with Greenstriped Rockfish, Halfbanded Rockfish, Pinkrose Rockfish, Pygmy Rockfish, and Speckled Rockfish. They reach a maximum of 31 cm (12 inches) in length, with females being larger than males. They feed on zooplankton including amphipods, copepods, crustacean larva, and krill. Reproduction is oviparous with each female releasing between 17,000 and 38,000 pelagic eggs. They have lifespans of up to forty-three years. The Swordspine Rockfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Swordspine Rockfish is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited range being found from Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Swordspine Rockfish is easily confused with the Pinkrose Rockfish, Sebastes simulator and the Rosy Rockfish, Sebastes rosaceus, both of which lack a second anal spine that is longer than the first anal ray.
From a conservation perspective the Swordspine Rockfish has not been formally evaluated. They a small component of the commercial fishery being sold in Asian markets in Southern California. They are caught with some regularity by recreational fishermen but are typically discarded due to their small stature.