Goliath Groupers; Growing in Numbers But Not Out of Danger
Off the coast of South Florida, underwater giants lurk in sunken ships and coral reefs. Atlantic goliath groupers are behemoth fish that can reach up to 800 pounds and live nearly 40 years. Though harmless, coming face-to-face with such an impressive predator 100-feet beneath the surface is certainly intimidating.
Goliath groupers are among the largest of groupers, reaching more than 8 feet in length. They’re found primarily in shallow tropical waters among coral and artificial reefs on both coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, including in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys in the United States.
Fished to near-extinction, goliath grouper populations plummeted in the 1970s and 1980s in the Southeastern U.S. They’ve since rebounded due to a ban on killing the fish in state and federal waters off Florida since 1990. “Goliath groupers are a conservation success story. We have successfully managed them and protected them for 30 plus years,” said Chris Malinowski, Ph.D., a research and conservation biologist and grouper specialist. “It’s one of the few species that has come back from the brink of extinction.” Though that doesn’t hold true throughout their entire range, which extends down to Brazil. Now, diving with goliath groupers is now an ecotourism activity in South Florida. Scuba divers flock to deep wrecks to witness and photograph large schools that have come together for spawning, typically between the months of July and October.
Yet, these fish still face problems that threaten their recovery, like cold snaps that kill young grouper living in the shallow, coastalmangroves, as well as red tide events, habitat loss due to development, poor water quality, and poaching. According to Malinowski, available data shows that grouper populations in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic have dropped in the last few years. For this reason, Malinowski and his colleagues strongly disagree with the idea of allowing a harvest on grouper populations in Florida, a controversial topic that has been considered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the last few years.
However, in early May, members of the commission board—appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis—voted in favor of taking steps to lift the ban on catching goliath grouper, based on their data showing increasing populations. The next step includes the commission’s staff drafting a formal proposal on how many fish could be caught, how licenses would be distributed, and any restrictions.
“The commission is not making their decision based on the best available science, and it’s disappointing,” Malinowski said, who wrote a letter to the commission along with two colleagues and endorsed by more than 90 prominent scientists, which describes the fish’s vulnerability. “The bottom line is, goliath grouper cannot be fished and sustained.”
Written by Bethany Augliere // Photography by Nico Ientile