The Varied Diet of Rockfish
Rockfish are opportunistic carnivores with diets that vary by size, location, and season.
Common Prey
They eat smaller fish such as sardines and anchovies, crustaceans like crabs and shrimp, cephalopods such as squid, and various invertebrates. Juveniles may feed on plankton.
Dietary Factors
Larger rockfish consume larger prey, and those near the ocean floor may eat more crustaceans than open-water species. Some rockfish are even known to exhibit cannibalism when food is scarce.
This dietary flexibility allows rockfish to thrive across many Pacific marine habitats.