The Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes alutus), or POP, can grow up to 21.1 in. (53 cm) and reach 4.5 lb. (2.05 kg) in weight. Its Greek name alutus means "unwashed" or "speckled", possibly referring to their light saddles. As the POP sexually mature they become deeper red in color with olive green, brown, or black patches on the upper body. Those living in deeper water are usually darker red. The subadults found closer to the surface have a more elongated body with olive green shading on their upper body. Often the skin of adult the POP will have black patches. The juveniles look similar to adults, though they are white-silver below the lateral line with upper areas of pale red. Juveniles are also more elongated, lack much color on their fin membranes, and lack the typical adult saddles or mottling.  Little is known of the very young since post-larval juveniles prior to age 1.5 years have not been observed. When out of water, the POP look much like the yellowmouth, sharpchin, and redstripe rockfishes.

The Pacific ocean perch may have been distributed as far south as central Baja California, but they are commonly found from northern California to the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska where they are the most abundant of the rockfishes. Their range also extends from Alaska to Honshu, Japan. As they age, the POP move to deeper water. Depending on the season and sex, the adult POP normally live at depths between 297 ft. and 2,723 ft. (90-825 m), while the juveniles are found in inshore waters as shallow as 122 ft. (37 m). The POP feed in the water column. Copepods are the juveniles' primary diet, while the adults consume mainly krill, mysids, amphipods, and midwater fishes. The POP are eaten by northern fur seals. The pelagic juveniles are prey to albacore.

After being inseminated in early fall, the female POP will often move near the mouths of deeper water submarine gullies to release their larvae. The larval release usually occurs from February to May, although the period may extend from January to July, and even occurring at times in August and October. The release of between 10,000 and 505,000 eggs seems to occur at dusk, 66 ft. to 99 ft. (20-30 m) off the bottom. The depth of release is 1,650 ft. to 2,310 ft. (500-700 m). The behavior of the POP larvae is not clear, despite several years of study. Recent investigations off British Columbia show that over several months, the larvae move to shallower water after initially remaining for extended periods at the release depth. During the spring transition periods, the upwelled water or nearshore currents may relocate the larvae to adult areas.

The POP are an important catch for the commercial fisheries from Oregon to the Bering Sea. Most of the POP are caught by bottom trawls, while fewer are caught from midwater trawls. In the 1960s, catches in the Gulf of Alaska peaked at over 300,000 tons, compared to 60,000 tons off British Columbia. In recent years, the diminished B.C. catch has stabilized, increasing somewhat to less than 5,000 tons. Using tight fishery controls and strong recruitment, a long-term rehabilitation effort has occurred recently off Washington and Oregon in an attempt to increase the low POP yield. The POP are occasionally caught by recreational anglers.

Adapted from Leaman, B. 2002 Sebastes alutus, p. 123-124. In M. S. Love, M. Yoklavich, and L. Thorsteinson, The rockfishes of the northeast Pacific. Univ. California Press.

• Additional POP info
   
• Quarterly Research Reports
   
• AFSC Rockfish Guide