She carried tens of millions of offspring in her time. Scientists examined her otoliths, the bones of her inner ears, to determine her age. Under a microscope, the rings of the otoliths reveal much about the life of a fish, but they can only hint of the hidden stories of two centuries. From shallow salt water near the coast to depths of over 3,000 feet on the continental slope roam the striking and unusual rockfish. All share the genus of Sebastes, the perfect Greek word for these fish, meaning magnificent.
Many rockfish are loners, mingling close over the reefs with other individuals of many species.
Some, like widow rockfish and bocaccio, gather in schools and journey far above the bottom. Some are even attracted to the refuge of abandoned oil-drilling platforms. Long lives may be necessary to perpetuate rockfish. Ocean conditions change with oscillations of currents in patterns measured in decades. Even slight changes in the predominate temperatures and the availability of favored foods can be disastrous for some fish.