They are a popular sport fish, generally caught in cold water 41–60 m deep, but also to subtidal depths of 275 m. The quliiback rockfish was originally described in 1880 as Sebastichthys maliger by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert with the type locality given as the Farallon Islands off San Francisco, California.

[5] The overall colour of the body is brown to black broken on anteriorly by yellow to white spotting and glitching extending downwards from the back.

Inn some areas this species shows brown or orange speckling on the head which reaches from the nape to underneath the pectoral fins.

[1] The quillback rockfish lives along the Pacific coast from the Gulf of Alaska to the northern Channel Islands of Southern California.

[7] The juveniles stay mainly along the shore, in reefs, sand and eelgrass, while the adult rockfish live in the deeper waters.

They are rarely found in the open ocean, generally preferring to stay close to kelp, rocks, coral, or lodged in crevices or holes.

[7] The quillback rockfish is ovoviviparous, like other rock fishes, the eggs are internally fertilized and the mother provides nutrients to the developing embryos.

Quillback rockfish have white, flaky meat with a delicate flavor, as befits deep-dwelling cold water species.

[11] From Oregon to southeast Alaska quillback rockfish are an important part of the inshore sport commercial fishery and are also taken by party and private vessels and divers.