Bocaccio rockfish are among the largest of the dozens of types of rockfish that live along the Pacific coast of North America. Their name is derived from an Italian term meaning "big mouthed."

Rockfish are slow-growing, but long-lived — with some living more than 100 years — and, as is the case with bocaccio, they are easily overfished as bycatch when fishermen target other more valuable groundfish such as cod and sole.