Sustainable Methods: Flyline
Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Rating: Not Rated
Biological Information: Bocaccio is a large species of rockfish that is found ranging from Alaska down to Baja California. As their name in Italian suggests, they can be easily identified by their large mouths. The adult color ranges from a reddish hue to brown and once they are caught and brought to the surface their color tends to brighten to a stronger red hue. Juvenile Bocaccio tend to stay together in loose schools and spend most of their time in shallower water. After about two years of age they begin to descend into deeper water of up to 750 feet near a deep, rocky environment. Bocaccio enjoy an colorful diet of many difference species of fish as well as squid and crustaceans.
Females begin to mature when they reach 17 inches long and they typically grow larger than the males and have a longer lifespan. Fertilization takes place internally within the females body and she holds the developing young until they are ready to hatch as live larvae. Hatching occurs during the months of December through April with the females being capable of hatching 1.5 millions eggs per cycle. Bocaccio can live to be 50 years old, are slow growing and late to mature making which puts them endanger if over fished as their populations take time to recover.