The goliath grouper
is the largest of the western north Atlantic groupers. It can reach about
455 kg (800 lbs.). Males range in size between 795-2057 mm TL and
females from 338-2155 mm TL. The following features can easily distinguish
Goliath grouper: terete shape, broad head, small eyes, and short dorsal
spine. They tend to have brownish-yellow or greenish-gray bodies and small
black spots on their fins. Although goliath grouper are very vulnerable
to cold waters and red tide, they are one of the only groupers that can
live in brackish waters. Fish taken from an exploited population were aged
from 0-37 years, but it is likely that goliath grouper live much longer
than 40 years if left unexploited.
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 in
shallow waters, the deepest being about 150 feet. Spawning occurs at
aggregation sites in July through September. Fish may move up to 100
km from inshore reefs to the offshore spawning aggregations in numbers of
up to 100 or more on ship wrecks, rock ledges, and isolated patch reefs
along the southwest coast of Florida. Aggregations declined in the 1980's
from 50-100 fish to less than 10 per site. Since the harvest prohibition,
aggregations have rebounded somewhat to 20-40 fish per site.
When goliath grouper are not on their spawning aggregations, they
are dispersed along shallow reefs. Historically, they were abundant in
very shallow water, often associated with piers and jetties along the Florida
Keys and southwest coast of Florida. They are no longer abundant in these
shallow areas. Juvenile goliath grouper have been found along shallow
mangrove shorelines, underneath mangrove prop roots. Their historical center
of abundance is in the Ten Thousand Islands area of southwest Florida