Kelp rockfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is native to the Pacific Ocean along the coast of California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.

This species reaches about 42 centimeters in length. Its life span is up to 15 to 20or even 25 years. Individuals may be tan, brown, green, reddish, blackish, whitish, or brown-mottled.

This marine fish is distributed from Sonoma County, California, south to central Baja California. The climate is subtropical. It lives in coastal waters up to 42 meters deep, but usually not more than about 12 meters. Its habitat includes kelp beds and rocky seabeds.[1] It commonly associates with several other species of rockfish in this habitat, but it is more closely associated with the kelp than the others.[5] During the day it often rests on the kelp blades, sometimes upside down.