Buffalo Sculpin

Buffalo sculpin spawn from at least January to April from the intertidal to depths of 66 feet, usually where there’s a strong current, including rocky headlands, reef crests, piers, and even near invertebrates such as among mussels and barnacles. Females are able to spawn twice in a season, for a total of 16,000-43,100 eggs. A male will mate with as many as 9 females during the breeding season. Each female’s egg mass will have its own color of eggs, which might be purple, yellow, red, tan, etc. The male guards the egg mass for as long as 39 days, except when the eggs are exposed to the air during low tide. Planktonic larvae hatch out at 0.2 inches long. Juveniles will settle to shallow waters and can be found in eelgrass, kelp, or among rocky bottoms. Buffalo sculpin can reach a length of 15 inches and may live to 25 years.