Rougheye rockfish species types I and II COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 11

Special Significance of the Species

Rougheye rockfish, Sebastes aleutianus (Jordan and Evermann, 1898) is possibly one of the longest lived fish species on earth (Love et al. 2002). In Alaska, scientists aged one specimen to 205 years (Munk 2001). Early Aboriginal fisheries probably captured rougheye rockfishes with Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis and sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria, but no records exist to verify this.

The existence of two cryptic species within the complex recognized as rougheye rockfish, Sebastes aleutianus (Jordan and Evermann, 1898) is of considerable scientific interest with respect to speciation mechanisms.

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