Threats       Status       Population Recovery       Distribution Map       Report Goliath Grouper Sightings

Goliath grouper is the largest of the western north Atlantic groupers. It can reach about 455 kg (800 lbs) and over 2 m total length.  The following features can easily distinguish goliath grouper: broad head, round tail, small eyes, and short dorsal spines. They tend to have a brownish-yellow or greenish-gray mottled pattern and small black spots on their fins. Fish mature at 5 or 6 years of age at about one meter in length.  They are relatively long lived, with individuals at least 37 years old found in exploited populations.  It is possible, however, that older fish occurred in unfished populations.  This species is very vulnerable to cold temperatures and red tide (see threats section below).

Historically, goliath grouper were found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, both coasts of Florida, and from the Gulf of Mexico down to the coasts of Brazil and the Caribbean. Most adults are found on shallow reefs, the deepest being about 150 feet.  They form spawning aggregations of about 100 individuals at consistent sites from July through September.  Fish may move up to 100 km from inshore reefs to these spawning sites, which typically occur on rock ledges, isolated patch reefs, and even on ship wrecks.  Aggregations declined in the 1980's due to overfishing.

Goliath grouper have a pelagic larval duration of approximately 6 weeks.  They settle in shallow mangrove habitat, first in mangrove leaf litter, and then along mangrove shorelines.  The juvenile stage lasts 5 or 6 years in this mangrove habitat, after which fish egress to shallow reefs, eventually joining adult populations offshore.  Their distribution in mangroves depends on local water quality, particularly dissolved oxygen content (> 4 ppm) and mid-range salinities (> 10 ppt).

Threats to Goliath Grouper Recovery

About     Status     Population Recovery     Distribution Map     Report Goliath Grouper Sightings

    Overfishing

Goliath grouper are particularly susceptible to overexploitation.  This is due in part to their slow growth, longevity, and large size at sexual maturity. In addition, because they aggregate to spawn, they are easy targets.  This is true for any species in which large numbers of otherwise widely-dispersed fish become concentrated in predictable areas and times.  Fishing on spawning aggregations increases catch per effort to the point of population collapse, removing reproductive individuals that are usually the largest fish in the population.  Indeed, intense recreational and commercial fishing pressure contributed to the population decline of goliath grouper in the 1980s.  Similar fishing-induced declines have occurred on spawning aggregations of Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus, gag Mycteroperca microlepis, and other grouper species throughout the world.

    Mangrove Habitat Loss

Juvenile goliath grouper recruit to mangrove habitat throughout their range.  This habitat in Florida has declined since the early 1900s due to channelization to redirect freshwater flow from the Everglades, mosquito-abatement, and development for agricultural, industrial, and residential purposes.  Most of the existing mangrove habitat in the entire United States occurs along the west Florida coast.  Very little mangrove habitat remains on the southeast coast.  Because mangroves serve as important juvenile habitat for these fish, their loss could affect population recovery even if reproductive levels of adult fish are high.

    Red Tide

Red tide effects on goliath grouper are being evaluated at the National Marine Fisheries Service Laboratory.  Information available on the following site: http//www.sefsc.noaa.gov/redtidegrouper.jsp.

About     Threats     Population Recovery     Distribution Map     Report Goliath Grouper Sightings

The goliath grouper was listed as a candidate species to the Endangered Species List in 1991 throughout its geographic range in U. S. waters--an area extending from North Carolina southward through the Gulf of Mexico.  All harvesting of the goliath grouper in federal waters of the southeastern United States (including the Gulf of Mexico) has been prohibited since 1990 and in the Caribbean since 1993.  Recovery of populations will be indicated when both the age and size structure and the geographic range are reestablished.  Until then, some level of protection will likely always be required, based on the life history characteristics that make them susceptible to rapid overfishing in the first place--longevity, slow to mature, aggregating to spawn.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, continues to list the goliath grouper as overfished in Reports to Congress on the Status of Fisheries.  Commercial or recreational retention of goliath grouper is prohibited both by the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council in their snapper-grouper and reef-fish fishery management plans.

Additional Resources:
1. Marine, Estuarine, and Diadromous Fish Stocks at Risk of Extinction in North America (Exclusive of Pacific Salmonids). (pdf file on the American Fisheries Society website)  For the first time AFS scientists review the risk of extinction in marine fishes in North American waters.  Populations within 82 species or subspecies are found to be vulnerable to extirpation, and 22 may be vulnerable to global extinction.
2. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (link to IUCN website). Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xviii + 61pp.
3. The NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources (link to NOAA website) lists Goliath Grouper as a candidate for the United States Threatened Species list.

About     Threats     Status     Distribution Map     Report Goliath Grouper Sightings

Research conducted by scientists at Florida State University and the National Marine Fisheries Service is intended to define the behavior, demographics, and movement patterns of goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara associated in spawning aggregations in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The research involves dedicated individuals in the fishing industry of South Florida who have helped us identify spawning aggregation sites and participated in all components of the field research. Such fishery-independent information will lead to estimates of stock recovery and elucidation of the mating system of this important grouper species. Photo courtesy of Steve May, Ultimate Getaway

Goliath Grouper have been overexploited to the point of economic extinction.  It was in large part due to public testimony of commercial fishers on the status of the fishery that resulted in protection for this species by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils.  At this point, the level of recovery in the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone or 200-mile Limit) is uncertain.  Evaluation of the dynamics of spawning aggregations by visual and acoustic methods could provide a basis for monitoring recovery. That is, if goliath grouper abundance in spawning aggregations is a correlate of stock size, then these fishery-independent methods can be used efficiently to monitor recovery.  The benefits of recovery may well extend into additional commercial enterprises, particularly ecotourism as opportunities to view these magnificent fish in their natural habitat increases. With the help of the Florida Wildlife Research Institute (see FWRI Hotline), we are developing a catalogue of goliath grouper sightings throughout the southeastern United States.  These efforts so far have concentrated in Florida, but we are slowly obtaining information from other sites.  Periodic updates will be made to this distribution map.

---

NOTICE TO FISHERMEN AND DIVERS

About     Threats     Status     Population Recovery     Distribution Map    Report Sighting

Adult Tag (on fish's back)

Juvenile Tag (on fish's belly)

IF YOU SEE THIS FISH

GOLIATH GROUPER (formerly known as jewfish).

call: 1-800-367-4461 (in Florida)

email: ifre@bio.fsu.edu

or write:  Dr. Felicia Coleman

Department of Biological Science,
Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1100

Please provide the following information:

your name, address, phone number, e-mail fish’s location (LORAN or LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE), depth, and date seen fish’s estimated total length, weight tag number and photo if possible