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fishing forecast

halfbanded rockfish

Sebastes semicinctus · Sebastidae · forage fish

Open-sea, flat-bottom rockfish of the Pacific, reaching 25 cm, feeding on krill and other plankton animals.

Also called: garoupa-de-meia-faixa, rocote inspector, halfbanded rockfish

Scientific illustration of Halfbanded rockfish
maximum
25 cm
depth
58–402 m
location

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period

Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…

the species

everything about the halfbanded rockfish

overview

who is the halfbanded rockfish

Rockfish of the family Sebastidae, genus Sebastes. It grows to 25 cm and lives in open sea, over flat bottoms, 58 to 402 m deep, from Point Pinos, central California, to central Baja California, Mexico. Adults stay away from reefs and feed on krill and other zooplankton animals. The species is viviparous. It enters commercial fishing and appears in public aquariums.

Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the halfbanded rockfish.

fun facts

  • Individuals up to 15 years old have been recorded.
how to recognize it

identification

Small rockfish, reaching 25 cm. It lives in open sea, over flat bottoms, 58 to 402 m deep, which sets it apart from reef rockfishes. The common name refers to incomplete bands on the body, which help identify it.

distribution

where found

open on the large map

Lives in the eastern Pacific, from Point Pinos, central California, to central Baja California, Mexico. In Latin America, it occurs only in Mexico.

Habitat: Open sea, over flat bottoms, 58 to 402 m.

what the law says

rules for the halfbanded rockfish

Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.

We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.

catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.

Bottom fish: it suffers barotrauma when brought up from depth. Release it carefully and quickly.

calculator

how much it weighs without taking it out of the water

Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00676, b = 2.99; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.

estimated weight

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sources and references

Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.

  1. scientific FishBase: Sebastes semicinctus (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
  2. scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Sebastes semicinctusNames by country and language.