The coastal waters of British Columbia are alive with a huge assortment of fascinating creatures. One of the more endearing and hopefully enduring, symbols of diving along this coast is the many species of rock fish that inhabit these waters. And if we listen and watch closely, we will hear their message.

They belong to one of the largest families of fishes among which are some of the world's most beautiful, bizarre and deadly. The family, Scorpaenidae, or 'scorpionfishes', is well named and represented by over three hundred species throughout the Atlantic and Pacific. They include the stonefishes, lionfishes and over forty species of rockfish found off Canada's Pacific and Atlantic coasts. In fact, the Scorpaenidaes are represented on Canada's Pacific coast by more species than any other family of fishes, all of which, thankfully, are more beautiful than they are dangerous.

The genus name for rockfishes, Sebastes, is derived from the Greek, sebastos, meaning magnificent, and, with their bold patterns or bright colours, many species of rockfish seem aptly named. Most can be distinguished at a glance by their colouration, but a few species share a similar mix of greys, browns and blues, making it difficult in some cases to quickly discern one species from another. Some, such as the yelloweye rockfish, Sebastes ruberrimus, undergo a dramatic colour metamorphosis between the juvenile stage and the reddish-orange, adult. In fact, the colouration of the juvenile, with it's bright red colour and two white longitudinal stripes, is so striking that it was actually mistakenly described as a new species in 1954 and given the name Sebastes bilineata!

Rockfish species vary in length from less than 12 inches to nearly three feet, with the largest of the rockfish being the giants of the scorpionfish family. Some species such as the quillback rockfish, Sebastes maliger, are a common sight to divers almost anywhere along the British Columbia coast while others are particular about where they live and may only be found along the exposed west coast. Over a dozen species can be sighted by divers, while several more prefer to inhabit depths beyond the realm of the recreational diver, some at depths in excess of 2000 metres.

Rockfish come in a wide variety of sizes and colours but their shape is distinctive. They are characterized by a stout, heavy build and a large head adorned with flat spines and sculpted ridges. Their fins also contain several sharp spines capable of inflicting a painful sting and injecting poison. But unlike their cousins, the lionfish and stonefish of the Indo-Pacific, whose venom can be deadly to humans, a sting from the sharp spines of a rockfish may only produce a painful swelling, burning, throbbing and possibly a fever. Sebastes also have a gas bladder which greatly expands when water pressure is decreased such as when hauling a catch to the surface. Unfortunately, most rockfish are dead when they get to the surface so returning undersize fish is rarely an option.

Rockfish are ovoviviparous. The fertilized eggs develop and hatch within the female and the larval young are released alive. The time of parturition varies considerably depending on the area and the species, but most rockfish are born between January and May and depending on the species and size of the adult female, anywhere from 10,000 to over two million young may be released. The nearly transparent larva are a few millimetres in length and most spend their first few weeks at the surface, feasting on plankton and in turn, providing a feast for a host of predators such as jellyfish and larger fish. The survivors eventually descend into deeper water where most species are solitary or live in groups of a few, or several individuals, rarely venturing far from their rocky cracks and crevices. A few rockfish species prefer the open water and form large schools that may contain more than one species.

Adult rockfish, depending on the species, feed on a variety of food from crustaceans and small fishes to jellyfish, brittle stars and salps. They are long lived with some species thought to have a life span of nearly 100 years.

Rockfish are sometimes called rock cod or ocean perch which is completely incorrect as these fish have nothing in common with cod or perch except that they are all fish. But whatever they are called they have always been a valued catch for both the commercial and the sport fisherman. Some stocks are being depleted at an alarming rate and some deep water species are being harvested without reliable assessments of the stocks. Life in the oceans is a testament to the beauty, diversity and fragility of nature. Many species symbolize it's beauty and mystery, and the decline of any species should act as a reminder of our disregard for the fine balances that make up the marine ecosystem.