Pink Rockfish, Sebastes eos

Pink Rockfish, Sebastes eos. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Pedro, California, June 2023. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Zachary Fratello, Redondo Beach, California.

Pink Rockfish, Sebastes eos. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Pedro, California, September 2023. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Zachary Fratello, Redondo Beach, California.

Pink Rockfish, Sebastes eos, Gill Rakers. Fish caught from coastal waters off Redondo Beach, California, November 2024. Length: 41 cm (16 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Zachary Fratello, Redondo Beach, California. Short and stubby – a key to a correct identification.

Pink Rockfish, Sebastes eos, Gill Rakers. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Pedro, California, September 2023. Length: 48 cm (19 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Zachary Fratello, Redondo Beach, California. Short and stubby – a key to a correct identification.

The Pink Rockfish, Sebastes eos, is a member of in the Rockfish and Scorpionfish or Scorpaenidae Family, that is also known as the Spanish Flag and the Spanish Rockfish and in Mexico as rocote Santa María. Eos in Greek mythology was the goddess of dawn with her name applied to species that have “rosy” colorations, that when combined with orange and yellow hues are reminiscent of a sunrise. 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 Pink Rockfish is spiny fish with a deep moderately elongated body with a long dorsal fin with a steep and sloping head that continues into the mid-section and then tapers quickly to a thin tail. Their body depth is 29 to 33% of standard length. Their coloration various from a pale pink to a crimson red with most fish having five white spots on their back and sides. The anal, caudal and second dorsal fin margins are white. Juveniles are marked with vermiculations on their back. They have a disproportionately large head, large eyes, and a large terminal mouth. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 5 to 7 rays; their caudal fin is slightly lunate; their dorsal fin has 13 spines and 11 to 13 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 16 to 18 rays. They have 26 to 33 short and stubby gill rakers and their body is covered with scales.

The Pink Rockfish is a demersal species that is found as solitary individuals within lower relief rocky habitat and sloping reefs on the continental shelf at depths between 76 m (250 feet) and 366 m (1,200 feet). They reach a maximum of 56 cm (1 foot 10 inches) in length and 2.4 kg (5 lbs 4 oz) in weight. As of December 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 2.90 kg (6 lbs 9 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off San Clemente Island, California, March 2002. They are carnivores that feed various small marine animals. They are a part of a depth-correlated cryptic species much like vermilion and sunset rockfish, as in they seem to get “replaced” by Greenblotched Rockfish shallower than 700 feet and vice versa. Reproduction is viviparous with each female releasing live young. They have lifespans of forty-five years. The Pink Rockfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, diet, growth, habitat, longevity, movement patterns, and reproduction.

The Pink Rockfish is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a very limited distribution being found from Isla Guadalupe, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of the Baja Peninsula.

The Pink Rockfish is very easily confused with the Greenblotched Rockfish, Sebastes rosenblatti (green or greenish brown vermiculations; 28 – 34 elongated gill rakers) and the Greenspotted Rockfish, Sebastes chlorostictus (covered with green spots, 31 – 36 elongated gill rakers).

From a conservation perspective the Pink Rockfish has not been formally evaluated. They are a component of the commercial fishery in coastal California waters and they are also pursued by recreational anglers in California. They are prone to overfishing, habitat degradation and climate change.