The Deacon Rockfish (Sebastes diaconus) is a marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, which is part of the family Scorpaenidae.

Native to the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Deacon Rockfish ranges from British Columbia to central California where it is found on nearshore and offshore rocky reefs.

Phylogeographical studies of Blue Rockfish from 2002-2004 revealed the existence of a genetically distinct subpopulation from Cape Mendocino, northern California to Neah Bay, Washington.

Deacon Rockfish attain sexual maturity at around 4-11 years depending on the environmental and other factors, so their reproductive cycle is structured and limited to a single annual event.

Female Deacon Rockfish are highly resident and commonly exhibit site fidelity to specific reefs, maintaining small home ranges.

Movements may also depend on daily and seasonal patterns, environmental factors such as hypoxia, or shifts in prey preference for planktonic organisms.

These assessments found that California populations of Deacon and Blue Rockfish drastically declined during the 1970's and 1980's but have since recovered close to management targets.

However, considerable knowledge gaps on the species prevail, and abundance work, species-specific differences from Blue Rockfish, sex-specific growth and mortality, and any information on stock structure would be of great interest for further research.