The Rockfishes 



abundant northward, where it is a shallow water species; south- 

 ward it is found only in deeper water, and is less common. Its 



X'^'Sis, "^^x^g^ 



temperature range conforms pretty closely with that or the 

 halibut. 



The rosefish reaches 2 feet in length, though the average is 

 much less. Their food consists chiefly of crustaceans, small fish, 

 and mollusks to some extent, and in turn, the young of this 

 species constitute an important part of the food of the cod, and 

 they are at all ages preyed upon by halibut and other large 

 predaceous fishes of cold regions. 



The rosefish ranks well as a food-fish, and considerable 

 quantities of them are taken on the New England coast. The 

 most extensive fisheries are on the Greenland coast, where the 

 fiesh is highly esteemed, and the spines are used as needles. 

 They may be caught on hand or trawl-lines, with almost any 

 kind of bait. They breed in summer in deep holes in Massa- 

 chusetts Bay, and elsewhere along the New England coast. 



This fish may be known by its nearly uniform orange-red 

 colour, and its spiny head. 



The genus Sebastodcs is the largest in the family, containing 

 as it does not fewer than 56 species, all occurring on our Pacific 

 Coast from Alaska to Lower California. They are all usually 

 known as rockfish, and several are of considerable value as food- 

 fishes. They are all closely related, and only a few of the 



496 



