damn sure not a rockfish
Yup. Red snapper. My favorite.
I once swapped someone at the dock my 85 lb halibut for a 40 lb snapper.
I love those fish.
I love it when people get correcting others wrong.
It's a rockfish.
In the Pacific, that's definitely a rockfish. They're sort of like groupers and snapper, and live in very deep water.
They are of course not in the least similar to striped bass, of which the term "rockfish" is a purely local colloquialism for them in Maryland and Virginia.
There's only one TRULY correct name for a fish, and that's the latin scientific name, but there are "official" unofficial names for various fish. "Striped Bass" for stripers(or rockfish) on the east coast is one. And "rockfish" is what those fish called, of which there are many different species, in the Pacific, by fishermen, the US Government, etc.
Another good example is the "weakfish" which lives from North Carolina to New England, is called a "Squeateague" by old-timers in Massachusetts (this name is dying out), a "weakfish" in NY and NJ, and a "sea trout" in Delaware and Maryland (though it doesn't have the slightest relation to trout, they're actually members of the drum family) and "gray trout" in Virginia and North Carolina. ALL the same species.
However a "Sea Trout" in South Carolina is a different but related species, the Spotted Sea Trout or what folks in Virginia and Maryland would call a "Speckled Trout."
Also, the Black Sea Bass familiar to East Coasters (never bigger than 10 lbs and living in massive schools on wrecks and reefs) is COMPLETELY different from the Black Sea Bass familar to Californians (A giant grouper that can weigh 500+ lbs.)
Interestingly in California there's a fish very closely related to weakfish that look identical except for being less colorful, that get much bigger, called a "White Sea Bass" - it is no relation to either the California Black Sea Bass or the East Coast Black Sea Bass.
NOPE snappers live in the Caribean around Florida.. But in Alaska these "Rockfish" are called red snappers.. The real red snappers is not a rockfish its a really "SNAPPER"..
Alaskans think these red fish are the best tasting rockfish.. fully as good as snapper.. or better.. Actually any fish caught in Alaska tastes better than fish from other places.. No lie just fact.. Especially the halibut.. and several different kinds(6) of Salmon.. smoked ot not..
“Ilove it when newseys get things wrong. That’s a snapper, not a rockfish=stripped bass.”
No, they got it right. “Rockfish”, as an appellation for Striped Bass, is a misnomer. The fish shown in the photo is the one correctly known to icthyologists as a “Rockfish”.
I live in Striped Bass country (along the Chesapeake Bay), and am continually annoyed by people referring to stripers as “Rockfish”.