Atlantic Goliath Grouper

The Atlantic goliath grouper is a large saltwater fish of the grouper family. The goliath grouper is found primarily in shallow tropical waters among coral and artificial reefs. And the ones we found were on an 80 foot wreck site, because it is spawning season in West Palm beach for these fish. Groupers may reach extremely large sizes, growing to lengths of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) and can weigh as much as 800 pounds (363 kg). We got to see many that tipped the scales at ~ 500lbs!!! In Florida, the largest hook and line captured specimen weighed 680 pounds (309 kg). They are usually around 400 lb when mature. Considered of fine food quality, the goliath grouper were a highly sought after quarry for fishermen of all types. The goliath grouper’s inquisitive and generally fearless nature make it a relatively easy prey for spear fishermen. They also tend to spawn in large aggregations returning like clockwork to the same locations making them particularly vulnerable to mass harvesting. We were lucky to see at least 30 individuals this day we went diving on the Mizpah wreck.  Until a harvest ban was placed on the species, the species was in rapid decline. The goliath grouper is totally protected from harvest and is recognized as a critically endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The U.S. began protection in 1990 and the Caribbean in 1993. The species’ population has been recovering since the ban, however with the fish’s slow growth rate it will take some time for populations to return to their previous levels. Now the groupers only threat is human sport fishing, because currently there is no ban on fishing or spearfishing of these creastures…bummer.

If you would like to go out on this trip while the large group of groupers are in town contact Scuba Adventures. I really liked their boat and their staff, they seem to really care about the groupers and of other species of fish.