Known for their bright yellow-orange color (like a canary!), canary rockfish live in the deep waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. As a juvenile, they live in shallower waters around rocky reefs, kelp canopies and artificial structures like oil platforms. As adults, they move into rocky bottoms and outcrops in deeper waters.

Canary rockfish are a bit unusual when it comes to their young. Most fish will “broadcast spawn,” meaning fertilization of embryos happens in the water column. Canary rockfish like to keep their young a little closer—fertilization and embryo development is internal, not external, and females give birth to larval young. They also produce many more eggs than other rockfish species—one female can produce between 260,000 and 1.9 million eggs!