This species was previously identified as 1) Sebastichthys (=Sebastes) vexillaris in parts of its range, and Sebastodes litoris, however morphological and biochemical analyses have confirmed that both are synonyms of S. caurinus (Stein and Hassler 1989, Lea 2001, M. Love pers. comm. 2024).

This nearshore rocky reef and kelp bed species is widely distributed in the northeastern Pacific. Its estimated generation length is 17 years, and therefore, the three-generation period is 51 years, representing a past time period of ~1973–2024. It has intrinsic biological characteristics, including long-life, delayed maturity and sporadic reproductive success, that increase its vulnerability to declines by exploitation and documented declines have occurred. Historically, this species has been exploited by recreational and commercial fisheries, though most of the landings have occurred in the recreational sector. Fishing effort increased for this species between the 1960s to the 1980s in California and in the 1970s in Washington, and biomass subsequently steeply declined by more than 80% from the early 1960s to 2000. Stringent management and fishing regulation, including population monitoring, catch limits and spatial closures, were put in place to support population recovery, and as a result, stocks are either in the precautionary zone or at or above target biomass currently, and these measures are expected to remain in place.

There are formal stock assessments conducted for this species through the majority of its global population (Washington to California) and it is managed via two separate stocks. A smaller portion of the global population occurring in Mexico and from Alaska to Canada and in the Puget Sound is not formally assessed and the trend in those areas is unknown. Though biomass targets are not yet reached in all areas of Washington to California, biomass has been increasing in the largest stock (California) over the past ~20 years, or about one generation length. However, the biomass trend in the area south of Point Conception in California has been decreasing since 2017 (over the past seven years). According to the average of total biomass percent declines weighed depending on the assumed proportion that each stock represents on a global level, this species has undergone an inferred decline of about 48% over the past three generations. As more than 90% of the global population/range is under formal and effective fishery management, it is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring (nor was it overfished in the near past), biomass has been increasing over at least one past generation length and is projected to continue increasing, it is listed as Near Threatened (nearly meets criteria A1bd). It is recommended to continue fishery management and also to research impacts from declines in kelp that have occurred and are projected to increase within its range as climate change progresses. Other research needs include life history, population structure (genetics) and the effect of marine protected areas on providing a fishing refugia for this stock.

This species is distributed in the eastern North Pacific from Kodiak Island, Gulf of Alaska to central Baja California, Mexico (Orr et al. 2000, McCain et al. 2005, Terwilliger et al. 2023), most commonly from southeastern Alaska to northern Baja California (Love and Passarelli 2020). The depth range is 1–185 m, but is most common shallower than 90 m (Love 1996, Pietsch and Orr 2015).

In general, this species is common (Matthews 1990, Palsson et al. 2009, Pietsch and Orr 2015). However, it has experienced declines in most of its range due to exploitation (Lea 2001; Narum 2006; Palsson et al. 2009; Wetzel et al. 2021, 2023). There is significant genetic isolation between regions along the coastline that hinders repopulation of depleted areas (Buonaccorsi et al. 2002). Based on a comparison of historical landings data and biomass estimates and general literature review, and for the purposes of estimating population percent decline on a global level for this Red List assessment, the proportion that the U.S. West Coast stocks represent is 75%, with Alaska, British Columbia and Mexico each assumed to represent a minor proportion (50% of the global population. Across these areas, and by applying a weighted decline depending on the assumed proportion that each area represents within the global population, biomass declined by about 48% since 1973, or over the past three generations (51 years; 1973–2024). The population is above the fishery management target of a 60% decline from unfished biomass.

Alaska: In the Gulf of Alaska, this species is managed as part of the Demersal Shelf Rockfish complex, which includes six other species of rockfish (Joy et al. 2022). Within this complex, the dominant species harvested is the Yelloweye Rockfish (90% of total catch) and the second-most harvested is the Quillback Rockfish. The stock assessment of this complex is primarily based on Yelloweye Rockfish data. Copper Rockfish account for a low percentage of landings and few data are available to assess its population status in Alaska. Directed commercial fishing on this stock/complex began in 1979, and due to stock health concerns, this fishery was closed to harvest in 2020 and remains closed as of at least 2022. Stringent regulations have also been put in place for recreational fisheries in recent years. The rockfishes in this complex have also been historically retained as bycatch in other commercial fisheries, particularly the Pacific |Halibut longline fishery. Biomass estimates of Yelloweye Rockfish generally declined over time (1980–2022) with a slight increasing trend in recent years. Overfishing is not occurring on this stock but there is 'substantially increased concerns' associated with the stock status (Joy et al. 2022).

Canada: In British Columbia, Canada, this species is taken in both recreational and commercial fisheries since at least the early 1980s but the stock is not individually assessed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). It is included in the 'Inshore Rockfishes' group, which was last evaluated in 2001 (Cornthwaite and Williams 2022). Quantitative abundance data are insufficient to estimate a percent decline or understand the status of the stock, but some level of decline has occurred in British Columbia based on other fishery indicators and the stock of inshore rockfishes was considered at least 'fully utilized' and likely 'over-utilized' in the Strait of Georgia and locally coastwide as of 2001 (Kronlund et al. 2001, Marliave and Challenger 2009).

U.S. West Coast: This species is managed as two distinct stocks on the U.S. west coast: California, and Oregon and Washington combined. The California stock is larger than the Oregon and Washington stock (Wetzel et al. 2021, 2023). The California stock is comparably more depleted than the Oregon and Washington stock (Wetzel et al. 2021, 2023).

California stock: In California, this species is primarily targeted by recreational fisheries, with the development of this fishery significantly increasing between the 1960s to the 1980s. Landings in California commercial fisheries have been small by comparison with higher landings occurring in the mid-1980s and early-2000s (Wetzel et al. 2021). Management of this fishery in California occurs over five areas. The California stock assessment is modelled using two area models due to distinct differences in the fishery north of Point Conception as compared to south of Point Conception, where groundfish landings are dominated by recreational for-hire charter vessels. There is likely some population connectivity between north and south of Point Conception (Wetzel et al. 2023). Total biomass estimates are available for the time period 1916 to 2023. From the early 1970s to mid-1990s, biomass declined by about 80% and has had an increasing trend since about the year 2000, or over the past ~20 years. Over the past three generations (1973–2023), total biomass in the California stock declined by 58% overall. Biomass in the area south of Point Conception, which has a smaller population than in the area north of Point Conception, has had a decreasing trend since 2017. Overall, the California stock is above the management target of a 60% decline from unfished biomass and biomass is projected to continue increasing over the next decade under the current management regime (Wetzel et al. 2023).

Oregon and Washington stock: In Oregon, this species is taken in both recreational and commercial fisheries (Wetzel et al. 2021). Prior to the mid-1960s, commercial landings were small and the recreational fishery developed in the 1970s and recreational landings have increased over time. Total biomass estimates are available for the time period 1927 to 2020. Total biomass steadily declined over time beginning in the early 1980s, and declined overall by 23% from 366.82 mt in 1927 to 283.93 mt in 2020. The West Coast groundfish harvest control rule that estimates catch limits will decrease the population to the management target of 40% of unfished spawning output, and this is driving the projected declining trend in biomass over about the next decade. However, if the fishery does not remove the full catch limits, then the current biomass projections status will differ from the current projections (Wetzel et al. 2021).

Historically, this species has primarily been taken in Washington by recreational fisheries (since about 1935) and very little by commercial fishing. Presently, commercial fishing is prohibited in the nearshore area in Washington where this species is most abundant (Wetzel et al. 2021). Total biomass estimates are available for the time period 1935 to 2020. Overall, total biomass in Washington steadily declined by 53% from 72.44 mt in 1935 to 33.90 mt in 2020 with a period of slight increase from ~2015 to 2018. Over the past three generations, or since 1973, biomass declined by 44% overall. Under the current management regime, biomass is projected to have an increasing trend over the next decade, or through at least 2032 (Wetzel et al. 2021).

Mexico: Little is known on the abundance/population trend of this species in Mexican waters, which represents the southern extent of its range (Wetzel et al. 2023).

This demersal species is closely associated with rocky reefs and kelp beds (McCain et al. 2005). Young-of-the-year and juveniles frequently associate with eelgrass beds and kelp forests, namely Macrocystis sp., Cytoseira sp., and Nereocystis lutkeana (Byerly 2001, McCain et al. 2005). Shallow waters with a high cover of understory kelp are very important habitats for young-of-the-year and recruits have been shown to associate exclusively with areas with 60 to 100% cover of understory kelp (Hayden-Spear and Gunderson 2006). Juveniles settle on the bottom on rocky reefs and rock-sand bottoms in shallow waters (Byerly 2001, McCain et al. 2005) and adults are mainly found in high relief rocky habitats where they are sedentary (Pietsch and Orr 2015) and have relatively small home ranges and high site fidelity (Marliave and Challenger 2009). At least in Canada, the species uses interstices among boulders for sheltering during winter (Marliave and Borden 2020). The volume, number and frequency of occurrence of prey items varies seasonally, geographically and ontogenetically (McCain et al. 2005, Palsson et al. 2009). Epiphytic algae (Smithora naiadum), which grows on eelgrass, and bull kelp are major components of the diet of this species in the Puget Sound (Chittaro et al. 2023).

This species is viviparous, matrotrophic and has a complex mating process. After courtship and insemination, females store sperm until the eggs are fertilized. After a gestation period, fully formed young are born. Females generally spawn once a year, but timings vary (McCain et al. 2005). Recruitment can be highly variable from year to year (Palsson et al. 2009).

The longevity is 50 years and the maximum recorded total length is 66 cm (Palsson et al. 2009, Love et al. 2021) but the species more commonly occurs at a median maximum length of around 48 cm (Wetzel et al. 2021). It has been aged to 51 years based on specimens from Oregon and Washington (Wetzel et al. 2021) and to 52 years based on an individual caught in northern California (Wetzel et al. 2023). This species' size shows great geographic variation, showing differences of 10 to 20 cm at any age (Palsson et al. 2009). The age and length at first maturity applied in U.S. West Coast stock assessments is six years and 34 cm (Hannah 2014; Wetzel et al. 2021, 2023). Natural mortality on the U.S. West Coast is assumed to be 0.108 yr^-1, though with some uncertainty (Wetzel et al. 2021, 2023). Based on the biology of the species and models included in formal stock assessment documents, the estimated mean generation time is 17 years (Wetzel et al. 2023).

This species' slow growth, late maturity, longevity and sporadic reproductive success, make it intrinsically susceptible to overfishing (Palsson et al. 2009, Cope et al. 2011). Additionally, its high site fidelity and small home range reduces its ability to repopulate depleted areas. Once populations decline, recovery can take decades due to its longevity and relatively low production (Buonaccorsi et al. 2002, Palsson et al. 2009).

An excess of organic material and nutrients can lead to habitat disruption as it can lower oxygen levels in the water and lead to hypoxia. An event of mass mortality in Hood Canal killed a quarter of the Copper Rockfish in a marine reserve when oxygen levels dropped below 1 mg/L. This event is thought to be linked to an increased nutrient load from the septic systems that intensified hypoxia in the area (Palsson et al. 2009).

As early life stages of this species require high percent coverage of understory kelp and adults also utilize kelp beds, the decline of kelp within its range may also impact this species (Hayden-Spear and Gunderson 2006, Markel and Surin 2015). Kelp declines within the range of this species are primarily caused by anomalous warm water events influenced by both natural and anthropogenic-driven climate change (Catton et al. 2016, Bell et al. 2018, Starko et al. 2019). Loss of kelp is projected to increase within the California Current Marine Ecosystem over the next 80 years due to expected changes in ocean conditions, and this will likely impact the survivability of the Copper Rockfish (Sunday et al. 2022). Increasing hypoxic zones due to climate change are also expected to impact the fitness of this species (Meyer-Gutbrod et al. 2021). A secondary stressor includes overgrazing of the kelp by abnormally large Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) populations, which was caused by the loss of their sea star predator via disease (Catton et al. 2016, Starko et al. 2019). Bull kelp, which is a major component of the diet of this species, has experienced substantial local declines in the Puget Sound (Berry et al. 2021, Chittaro et al. 2023).

This species has been important to commercial fisheries from Alaska to San Diego since 1884, where it is taken by hook-and-line and gillnet. It is a major component of recreational rockfish catch from the Gulf of Alaska to southern California (Love 1996). In Canada and Washington, this species is culturally important to indigenous groups (Frid et al. 2016). Recreational harvests are typically larger than commercial catches in each region and year and this has been one of the dominant species in recreational catches since 1980 (Palsson et al. 2009). It is also retained as incidental catch in commercial fisheries in Canada (Kronlund et al. 2001). This species is displayed in institutional/public aquaria (Canino and Francis 1989).

By the early 1980s, groundfish resources were already stressed and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife started monitoring resources and fisheries and developed a management plan (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 1997, Palsson et al. 2009). During the decades of 1980 and 1990, regulations to conserve rockfishes were implemented in the Puget Sound. Due to continued rockfish decline, further limitations to catch limits and seasonal closures were implemented in the 2000s (Palsson et al. 2009). In Washington, harvesting of this species has been restricted by eliminating targeted commercial fisheries, decreasing recreational bag limits and by eliminating or discouraging targeted recreational fisheries in Puget Sound. In British Columbia, commercial and recreational fisheries that take this species and other rockfishes are also restricted via regulation (Palsson et al. 2009). This species has been classified as 'Vulnerable' in Puget Sound (Musick et al. 2000b) and as a species of special concern in Washington State (Pietsch and Orr 2015).

Exploitation of this species on the U.S. West Coast within federal waters is managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) through stock assessments, fishing regulations and spatial closures, including marine protected areas (Wetzel et al. 2021). Research is needed on life history, population structure (genetics) and the effect of marine protected areas (Wetzel et al. 2023).

This species occurs in multiple protected areas throughout its range. In Brackett’s Landing reserve, this species has been recorded to occur in densities four times higher than in four fished natural and artificial habitats in central Puget Sound and San Juan Islands, and occurred in greater densities inside three marine reserves compared to unprotected areas (Palsson et al. 2009). Long-term studies also found that individuals are larger in an area protected for ten years, than before creation or in comparable fished areas (Eisenhardt 2001, 2002). This species and other rockfish species experienced larger increases in biomass inside four central California MPAs as compared to outside following a stress event caused by a marine heatwave, and this may indicate that MPA protection could afford some resiliency to localized populations of this species as climate change progresses (Ziegler et al. 2023). However, in some marine reserves, the density of predators and competitors also increases limiting rockfish abundance by affecting the trophic cascade (Palsson et al. 2009) and effects of MPAs on abundance have varied across its range (Wetzel et al. 2023). This species also occurs in Rockfish Conservation Areas, a network of areas of inshore habitat where commercial and recreational fishing for rockfish species is prohibited and designed to support population recovery off the U.S. West Coast (Dick et al. 2017). This network of protected areas has been valuable in supporting higher densities of individuals of this species and in allowing genetic connectivity in this sedentary species, especially in coastal areas (Dick et al. 2017).