This year, the critically endangered Goliath grouper is once again under review by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). On the table, the possibility of opening killing season for this fragile species.
Learn the facts from my recent peer reviewed scientific manuscript published in Oryx, the International Journal of Conservation.
Click here for a FREE pdf download
Goliath Grouper meets Dr. Sarah Frias-Torres. Photo Credit: Steve Karm
Briefly, Goliath groupers are not to blame for declining lobster and snapper stocks in Florida, one of the main reasons behind requests to reopen the fishery.
In my paper titled “Should the Critically Endangered Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara be culled in Florida”, I analyzed fisheries landing data since the 1950s, diver based surveys and published dietary studies. I concluded that :
1) Goliath groupers eat invertebrates (worms, molluscs and crustaceans) and poisonous fish, not snappers and other groupers. Surprisingly, many of the prey consumed by goliath groupers are in turn predators of juvenile spiny lobster. Hence, goliath groupers are a fishers’ best friend, because through top-down predator control, goliaths could allow more juvenile lobsters to grow and become available to fishers.
2) The slow recovery of the Goliath grouper population in Florida is not the cause for declining lobster and snapper stocks in Florida. Instead, overfishing is the main cause.
3) A thriving Goliath grouper population could provide additional socio-economic benefits in ecotourism, and as a potential biocontrol agent for the invasive lionfish.
Goliath groupers are a national treasure. Florida is the only place in the world where we can encounter these gentle giants, from juveniles to adults. Florida also contains 99 % of the spawning aggregation sites known worldwide. With this study in hand, we now have a strong argument to continue protection of the Goliath grouper and dismiss any claims that the Goliaths are destroying valuable stocks of lobster, snapper and other groupers.
Related articles:
One-quarter of Grouper species are being fished to extinction
Five common myths about Goliath grouper (An outreach guide prepared by Dr. Sarah Frias-Torres)
Grouper Luna 
[…] Atlantic goliath grouper is a large saltwater fish of the grouper family. The goliath grouper is found primarily in shallow […]
[…] Goliath groupers are critically endangered throughout their tropical and subtropical Atlantic ocean distribution. In the United States, a federal and state moratorium on harvest implemented in 1990 has allowed a slow path towards recovery from near extinction. Diving in Florida will allow you to see Goliath groupers during the most spectacular time of the year: spawning season. […]