Goliath grouper

Goliath Grouper

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Goliath grouper

The Atlantic goliath grouper or itajara (Epinephelus itajara) is a large saltwater fish of the grouper

Grouper

For other meanings, see Grouper .Groupers are fish of any of a number of genus in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes....
family. It was formerly known as the jewfish
Jewfish

Jewfish is the informal name of some species of fish, including:*Glaucosoma hebraicum, the West Australian Dhufish*Epinephelus itajara, the Goliath grouper...
; however, in 2001 the American Fisheries Society made the decision to change the name to the more considerate "goliath grouper". It is a cousin of the Pacific Goliath grouper

Pacific Goliath grouper

The Pacific goliath grouper or quinquefasciatus is a large saltwater fish of the grouper family. It is a relative to the Atlantic Goliath grouper....
.

The goliath grouper is found primarily in shallow tropical waters among coral

Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
and artificial reefs at depths of up to 165 feet (50 m).

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Goliath grouper'

Start a new discussion about 'Goliath grouper'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Atlantic goliath grouper or itajara (Epinephelus itajara) is a large saltwater fish of the grouper

Grouper

Pacific Goliath grouper

Coral

Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, Florida, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, Florida, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tort...
, the Bahamas, most of the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
, and practically all of the Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
ian coast, where they are known as mero. On some occasions it is caught in New England off Maine and Massachusetts but it is not that common. In the eastern Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, it occurs from Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
to Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the S?n?gal River in West Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south....
.

Young grouper may live in brackish estuaries, canals and mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline water coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, to refer to all trees and...
swamps, unusual behavior among grouper.

They 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). 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. 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

World Conservation Union

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to natural resource Conservation ethic....
(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.

Goliath grouper eat crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s, other fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
, octopus

Octopus

The octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus ....
es and young sea turtles. Grouper are preyed upon by large fish such as barracuda

Barracuda

The barracuda is a ray-finned fish known for its large size and fearsome appearance. Its body is long, fairly compressed, and covered with small, smooth scale ....
, moray eel

Moray eel

Moray eels are large cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera. The typical length of a moray is 1.5 m , with the largest being the slender giant moray, Strophidon sathete, at up to 4 m ....
s and large shark

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full Cartilage skeleton and a highly Streamlines, streaklines and pathlinesd body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits....
s.

Goliath grouper are believed to be protogynous hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodite

A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs. In many species, hermaphroditism is a common part of the life-cycle, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which partners are not separated into distinct male and female types of individual....
s, with individuals first maturing as females and only some large adults becoming males. Most grouper

Grouper

For other meanings, see Grouper .Groupers are fish of any of a number of genus in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes....
follow this pattern, but it has not yet been verified for the Goliath. In fact, Bullock et al. found that males could be sexually mature at smaller sizes (~1150mm) and younger ages (4-6 years) than females (~1225mm and ~6-8 years).

External links

including alternate names