Abbreviated Life History of Grass Rockfish (Sebastes
rastrelliger)  Grass Rockfish; Photo by Steve Lonhart of
Simon/NOAA  Grass rockfish are heavy-bodied, stubby, spiny
fishes. The coloring is dark green to olive green with black or
gray mottling. They somewhat resemble kelp rockfish except that
kelp rockfish are usually brown or gray-brown and kelp have long
gill rakers, whereas grass rockfish have short gill rakers.
There is also a rare light-colored variation in pigmentation
that is yellowish-orange.  Distribution, Stock Structure and
Migration  Grass rockfish are found from Yaquina Bay, Oregon to
Bahia Playa Maria, central Baja California, although they are
most common from northern California south. This is a shallow
water species, commonly found from the intertidal to 20 ft, but
they have also been found to depths of 150 ft. As juveniles they
are pelagic, but as they mature and become adults, they
associate with kelp beds and reefs. Juveniles and subadults can
be found in tide pools. This species is con