The northern rockfish is a moderate-sized rockfish, reaching a maximum fork length of 48 cm and a maximum weight of about 1.5 kg. Its appearance, size, and general morphology are somewhat similar to Pacific ocean perch, but it tends to be darker with less red coloration than Pacific ocean perch. Among rockfish species in Alaska, the northern rockfish is second in abundance only to Pacific ocean perch.
Northern rockfish supports a valuable bottom trawl fishery, especially in the Gulf of Alaska.
Typical factory trawler that participates in the northern rockfish fishery in the Gulf of Alaska. The vessel carries a crew of about 30-40, who process and freeze the catch on board. Most northern rockfish are exported to Japan or Korea. Despite the importance of northern rockfish, relatively little information is available on either the biology of this species or its fishery. Red x s mark the location of relatively large catches of northern rockfish for those years.