Archives for posts with tag: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

SCUBA divers want Goliath Groupers protected

August 4, 2017 //
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Many SCUBA divers support continued protection of Goliath Groupers in Florida. As an example, I share a letter from Carlos & Allison Estape, avid SCUBA divers from Islamorada, Florida Keys. They are my guest bloggers today. Carlos & Allison wrote to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and attended one of the Goliath Grouper workshops currently underway to gather public opinion on the proposal that, if approved, would allow killing this critically endangered species.

You can attend the workshops, write emails to the FWC Commissioners (commissioners@MyFWC.com), call (850-487-0554) or post your comments here 

Letter to FWC from Carlos & Allison Estape :

Commissioners, our names are Carlos & Allison Estape, we live in Islamorada, Florida and we have personally logged several thousand dives each throughout the Florida Keys since 1978.

First-hand experience

It is a rare sight indeed to nowadays come across a Goliath while SCUBA diving on our reefs. Data from the Reef Environmental & Educational Foundation  data that has been presented to the Commission in the past, show that Goliaths are reported on less than 6% of the nearly 26,000 diver surveys in the Florida Keys since 1993. Many of those reports are of the same fish or fishes found repeatedly on the same sites, Goliaths show great site fidelity as is well known.

Unsupported charges

In the minutes of previous Commission meetings, it has been suggested by anglers that the Goliath grouper is responsible for reduced human take of other game species and lobsters.

My first question to all for consideration is:

If Goliath groupers are to blame for great reductions in other species such as other groupers or lobster then why is it that within the Florida Keys Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs) large numbers of Black grouper and plentiful lobsters can be found? Which of the following two reasons is more plausible:

  • Is it because Goliaths haven’t figured out the Black grouper and lobsters are hiding in the SPAs or
  • Is it because people aren’t allowed to fish or harvest there?

It is my observation that the reason for reduced catches of some game fish and lobsters isn’t that there are too many Goliath groupers.

Human population considerations

Consider this, registered vessels in Monroe County in 1991, the year after the Goliath grouper moratorium on harvest started, totaled about 16,000. In 2016 there were more than 29,000. That’s just Monroe County. In Miami-Dade County there were more than 66,000 registered vessels.

These numbers don’t take into consideration all the vessels brought to Monroe from other parts of the State or outside the State. Between recreational and commercial harvesting we have depleted our game fish stocks so that studies (James A. Bohnsack et al) now show that all but the Yellowtail snapper are below sustainable reproductive rates.

Since 1990 the population of Monroe County has held steady at just under 80,000 people, meanwhile the population of Miami-Dade has increased from 2 million to 2.7 million. The combined population of Monroe/Dade/Broward/Palm Beach has gone from less than 4.1 million to 6.1 million, a 50% growth. The State of Florida has gone from 13.0 to 20.2 million over the same time span, a 55% increase.

Total grouper commercial catch has dropped from 800,000 pounds in 1985 to 200,000 pounds in 2016

What is more probable;

  • Goliaths have been eating more than half a million pounds of other groupers per year, or
  • people have been eating more than half a million more pounds of grouper per year?

Tourism dollars

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary published a socioeconomic factsheet showing that during the 2007-8 tourist season there were 739,000 visitors and residents that participated in diving and snorkeling operations, 85% MORE than the 400,000 that participated in fishing activities. The kicker is that divers spent $470 million in Monroe County that year versus the $274 million spent by fishermen. Divers and snorkelers spent 72% MORE than anglers!

Monroe County Tourist Development Council has spent millions of dollars promoting SCUBA diving along the entire Florida Keys chain including creating the Wreck Trek. These artificial reefs have been shown to have large economic benefits to the local economy, no doubt in large part because on them you can regularly see resident Goliath groupers.

If you allow harvesting of these fish the first to go will likely be those resident Goliaths even though they are in Federal and not State waters, the ones everyone knows are there, the ones people like me and the more than 700,000 other divers that visit the Keys every year hope to see.

While Goliaths show great site fidelity they also come inshore to aggregate. Just off of our island in fifteen feet of water there exists such an aggregation site. The site has 2 or 3 permanent resident Goliaths but that number grows to a dozen or more during August and September. It is highly likely that some of these individuals are the same ones we see offshore on the wrecks. Harvesting them here will deprive the diving community of seeing them elsewhere when they would have moved back to deeper water.

Goliath WStearns Rebreather Edited

Recreational and professional SCUBA divers are strong supporters of Goliath Grouper conservation, and they also support local Florida businesses when visiting to dive with the gentle giants. Photo Credit: Walt Stearns

Enforcement

FWC personnel are understaffed and overworked, I know several of them personally and have the utmost respect for what they do. In my opinion there simply isn’t enough of them to enforce fishing regulations throughout the hundreds of square miles of State waters. How effective will enforcement of the Goliath grouper harvesting be with such limited manpower? I don’t trust the honor system and once the animal has been killed a fine won’t bring it back.

After attending the Key Largo Workshop I’m left with the strong impression that the driving force for opening harvest has nothing to do with science and everything to do with pacifying a loud and vocal group of anglers that won’t be satisfied until all limits and restrictions are removed. This 100-fish per year limit is just throwing them a bone. Without robust science that concludes that a healthy and sustainable breeding stock exists, fishing for this species should remain closed.

If nothing else the harvesting needs to take into account different regions with different Goliath grouper populations, something I still think will be problematic to enforce. The Florida Keys is a very different animal than the Florida West coast and should be treated differently.

In summary:

WE NEED TO LEAVE AS–IS THE STAUS QUO MORATORIUM OF HARVESTING GOLIATH GROUPER TO PREVENT A FURTHER DEGRADATION AND IMBALANCE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS REEF COMMUNITIES until hard scientific evidence tells us otherwise.

OR, IF YOU PREFER, FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN A SOCIO-ECONOMIC ONE FOR THE STATE. GOLIATHS, IT SEEMS, ARE WORTH MORE ALIVE THAN DEAD.

Thank you for your consideration,

Carlos & Allison Estape

Islamorada, Florida

 

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Categories Marine Conservation

Grouper Etiquette

September 16, 2016 //
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My name is Grouper Goodall. I’m a female Goliath Grouper writing a doctoral dissertation on human and grouper behavior. You can read more about my studies here.

During my research, I’ve discovered humans have an inexplicable need to dive with us. It’s true, we, Goliath Groupers, are a sexy bunch. Look at our burly torpedo-shaped bodies and our relaxed poise just hovering around like meditating yogis. We are adorable.

Now during spawning aggregation season (from August to October), we up the ante from adorable to awesome. After all, we’ve waited a whole year to have sex. So we gather at our singles bars, checking out sexy partners (if we can figure out who is the other sex) and we look our best. We call it courtship.

Goliath Grouper spawning aggregation or singles bar

Grouper Goodall and her buddies at a singles bar checking out sexy partners, if they can figure out who is the other sex. Photo Credit: Walt Stearns

During this critical time, your obsession for making us your dive buddies can easily get out of hand. Or fin. You’ll be surprised to know that in our grouper society, we have a code of polite behavior: a grouper etiquette. It has worked for the last 11 million years since the Miocene epoch. We are not going to change our ways, no matter how many selfie sticks you throw at us.

So, for your own good (and ours) I’ll share with you the basics of grouper etiquette.

Consider this an inter-species wake-up call

1) Avoid aggressive diving

We are irresistible, I know. But it’s rude and outright scary for us to see a diver approaching head on at full speed. I mean, when I see such locomotive divers, I pee my pants (If I could wear pants). We don’t follow Euclidean geometry. The shortest distance between you and me is not a straight line, but a soft curve. You should approach me gently, sideways. You’ll be surprised how close you can get to us. Obey this basic first rule of etiquette or you shall only see our tails.

2) Do not block the exit

Always give us a way out. Do you see where my head is? That means, if I decide to swim away from you in a jiffy, I’ll go towards where my head is pointing. So give me space or I might kick you in the gonads in my panic escape.

3) Do not chase after us

You might remember there was once a Jesus guy who said “let the children come to me”. It’s the same with us. You can get close to us, but for a photo portrait kind of close (when you do the citizen science project) don’t chase after us, of we’ll get the hell out of there. We’ll come up to check you out. Look, we are very curious. We like to pop up and ask you “Hello, What’s up? How’s it hanging? But, if you have a hose hanging in there, tuck it in. Come on, be a neat diver and don’t go around steamrolling the corals and the seabed. Not cool.

4) Do not feed us

We’ve worked out the whole year to look this magnificent for spawning season. We’ve done our yoga, eaten all the right foods. Yes, we might look a bit chubby to you but it’s the perfect kind of fat ass. Do you know how difficult it is to keep our spherical beauty? So don’t show up with hot dogs and who knows what. Feeding us breaks our delicate Rubenesque balance.

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Remember, avoid aggressive diving, no blocking the exit, no chasing after us, and no giving us food.

I wish you a great diving experience. I’ll be watching you.

 

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Categories Marine Conservation

Goliath Grouper Moratorium Must Continue

January 8, 2014 //
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MEMORANDUM

Date: January 8, 2014

To: Joint Council Committee on South Florida Management Issues Members,

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: Ben Hartig, Michelle Duval, David Cupka, Jessica McCawley, Charlie Phillips; Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council: Doug Boyd, Kevin Anson, Martha Bademan, Roy Williams, John Sanchez;

Joint Council Committee staff: Luiz Barbieri, John Hunt, Bob Mahood, Doug Gregory

and

Ad Hoc Goliath Grouper Joint Council Steering Committee Members: Carrie Simmons, Clay Porch, Luiz Barbieri, David Cupka, Jessica McCawley, John Sanchez, Gregg Waugh, Doug Gregory

From: Sarah Frias-Torres, PhD, Research Collaborator Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, Florida

Dear Joint Councils,

As a scientist with an active research program on Goliath Grouper, a SCUBA diver and a Floridian, I’m writing to express my concerns regarding the possibility of lifting the 1990 federal and state moratorium on harvesting Goliath Grouper which is currently under discussion at the Ad Hoc Goliath Grouper Joint Council Steering Committee meeting January 7-9, 2014.

I understand some representatives of the fishing lobby are pressuring you into reopening the fishery for Goliath Grouper. They label the reopening with different names: “scientific take”, “culling”, “selected take” etc.  Such pressure was behind the repeated proposals to reopen the fishery in 2007, 2009 and 2011, all discussed at FWC meetings, and all defeated in view of scientific evidence. At the start of 2014 we face once again demands to reopen the fishery.

It takes 24 years to grow a 24 year old Goliath Grouper. This obvious statement gets lost in our current economy ruled as it is by quarterly profits. The short term approach also permeates through FWC and the Fishery Councils when they are pressured by the fishing lobby to “do something” about the Goliaths, and that “something” is usually understood by “we want to kill them again”

AN URBAN LEGEND

The reason most frequently used to reopen a recreational take of Goliath Grouper is the perception that Goliath Groupers eat everything they encounter, and are responsible for declining fish and lobster stocks. This is an urban legend with no connection to reality.   Solid scientific research (Frias-Torres 2013) demonstrates that overfishing, not Goliath Groupers are responsible for declining fish and lobster stocks. My paper also concludes that a recovering Goliath Grouper population can provide many ecological and socioeconomic benefits: 1) as top-down control on lobster predators: Goliaths eat predators of juvenile lobsters, allowing more lobsters to grow to legal size and making more lobsters available to fishers, 2)  in ecotourism, as a sustained source of income for many small Florida-based diving businesses, restaurants, hotels and tax revenue for the state of Florida, and 3) as potential biocontrol of the invasive Indo-Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans  on Atlantic reefs, because Goliaths have evolved to feed on venom-spined and poisonous fish.

THE NEED FOR AN IMPROVED ASSESSMENT

The current benchmark to evaluate Goliath Grouper recovery is set at the population level as it existed in 1950, because it assumes at that time the population was almost unfished.  However, studies on historical ecology (Mc Clenachan 2009) demonstrate nearshore population declines well before 1950. Without taking into consideration a true historical baseline, the restoration target for Goliath Grouper is far too low. Since it’s publication the McClenachan (2009) paper has been included in all the FWC documentation related to Goliath Grouper meetings and assessments, and during my previous testimonials at those same meetings, I emphasized the problem with the current benchmark, yet , FWC, NOAA and the Councils insist on using an already reduced population as the restoration target for this species. Until this mistake is corrected, any claims made that the species has reached its recovery target are absurd.

In the 2009 and 2010 winters, we had sustained cold water temperatures in Florida, and those were particularly extensive in mangrove shorelines. Roughly 90 % of the juvenile Goliath Grouper population died from exposure to cold water. This means, we are not going to have any new significant recruitment to the adult population (in the reefs) until 2016 or 2017, when we use the 7 year mark as the time when female Goliaths mature and migrate into the adult population (Bullock et al. 1992) . To help you visualize the magnitude of the Goliath loss, it will be equivalent to having 9 out of 10 children around the world, from newborns to 12 years of age (time of first menstruation for girls), suddenly die. That’s how much we’ve lost in Goliath Groupers in just two winters. This week, a portion of the arctic blast affecting most of the US has arrived to Florida. It remains to be seen whether this winter we are going to experience sustained cold water temperatures and a potential loss of juvenile Goliath Groupers.

In 2010, a group of independent experts rejected the Goliath Grouper stock assessment. I attended the assessment meeting and provided information on my field-based research. One of the major handicaps was the disconnect between the model used as the centerpiece of the assessment, and the real life history of the species as studied by fish ecologists that spend time in the water with the fish itself. If fisheries scientists and fish ecologists are allowed to work together, we could develop a more realistic assessment of the population. We might have to develop new assessment tools, but by doing so, we’ll be opening a new era of improved population assessments not only for Goliath Groupers but for the entire grouper fish family.

Goliath Grouper encounters Dr. Sarah Frias-Torres. Photo Credit: Alan Chung

Goliath Grouper encounters Dr. Sarah Frias-Torres. Photo Credit: Alan Chung

ONGOING REQUESTS FOR CONTINUED PROTECTION

Requests to continue the 1990 federal and state moratorium of Goliath Grouper come from the general public, fishers, scuba divers, and official representatives of the scuba diving industry. Two of the most recent request I’m aware of include:

1) Recreational scuba dive businesses in Florida have completed a signature campaign in support of continued protection of the Goliath Grouper. The campaign secured 2,324 signatures as of today January 8, 2014. The petition is being delivered to Ben Hartig, Chairman, Rep. MaryLynn Magar (FL-82), Governor Rick Scott, Sen. Bill Nelson (FL-1), and Sen. Marco Rubio (FL-2). You can access the Petition site here

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-the-goliath-grouper.fb66?source=s.icn.fb&r_by=9731819

I strongly suggest you access the site and read the comments left by some of the people signing the petition, so you can learn more about the many reasons people want the Goliath Groupers protected.

2) The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), the international trade association for the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry, with more than 1,400 business members worldwide, has issued an official statement in support of continued protection of Goliath Grouper. The statement was sent to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and can be viewed here.

http://dema.org/associations/1017/files/From%20DEMA%20re%20Goliath%20Grouper-Gulf%20of%20Mexico%20Fishery%20Management%20Council.pdf

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE

Once my paper Frias-Torres (2013) was accepted for publication (in mid 2012), I invested a significant amount of time making the information available to the widest audience. I publicized the results through social media, I attended FWC and Council meetings and testified on the results of the research, and I was also interviewed by the UK-based BBC radio, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ntfvl and by the U.S. National Public Radio (NPR)  http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wqcs/local-wqcs-984578.mp3 . As a result, the Goliath Groupers have acquired national and international exposure.

I urge you to continue the moratorium on Goliath Grouper as recommended by scientific evidence.

Literature Cited

Bullock LH, Murphy MD, Godcharles MF, Mitchell ME. 1992. Age, growth and reproduction of jewfish Epinephelus itajara in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Fishery Bulletin 90: 243-249.

Frias-Torres S. 2013. Should the Critically Endangered Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara be culled in Florida?. Oryx, 47(1), 88–95

McClenachan L. 2009. Historical declines of goliath grouper populations in South Florida, USA. Endangered Species Research 7: 175–181

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Categories Marine Conservation

5 Goliath Grouper Myths

June 14, 2013 //
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This year, 2013, the critically endangered Goliath grouper is once again under review by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) . On the table, the possibility of lifting the 1990 federal and state moratorium on harvest for this fragile species.

I have provided up-to-date information in my previous posts: Guilt-free Goliath groupers and Goliath groupers under review.  Below are 5 common myths on Goliath grouper used to justify requests for lifting the current moratorium. The myths are contrasted with data obtained from scientific research done my myself and others.

Goliath groupers were fished to near extinction in the United States. Trophy fishing in the 1950s; Key West, Florida. Credit: anonymous

PAST: Goliath groupers were fished to near extinction in the United States. Trophy fishing in the 1950s; Key West, Florida. Credit: anonymous

TODAY: Goliath grouper spawning aggregation re-forming in east Florida after being fished to extinction. Credit: Walt Stearns

TODAY: Goliath grouper spawning aggregation re-forming in east Florida after being fished to extinction. Credit: Walt Stearns

Myth #1

Goliath groupers eat all the groupers, snappers and lobsters on the reef, contributing to fisheries declines.

The Science Answers: False.

In Goliath grouper, poor development of canine teeth reflects a generalized diet [1]. Analysis of stomach contents [2,3,4] reveal that diet is restricted to invertebrates, mostly shrimp and crabs, lobsters, gastropods, and poisonous or venom-spined slow-moving fish ( stingrays – Dasyatidae; cowfish – Ostraciidae; burrfish and pufferfish – Diodontidae; catfish – Ariidae). Food web dynamics based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses in goliath grouper confirm the diet preferences (invertebrates and poisonous slow moving fish) obtained through previous dentition and stomach content studies. The isotope analyses indicated a broad prey base with a relatively high trophic status [5], but not to the level of a top predatory fish as the myth explains. The most comprehensive study to date [6] demonstrates that: 1) Goliath groupers are not the cause for declining fish and lobster stocks.  Overfishing is the main cause; 2) Goliath groupers function as a top-down control on juvenile lobster predators, ensuring more lobsters reach adult size and become available to the lobster fishery; and 3) goliath groupers could provide additional ecological and socioeconomic benefits:  in ecotourism, and as potential bio-control of the invasive Indo-Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans on Atlantic reefs.

Myth #2

Goliath grouper grow at a formidable speed to reach such a big size, so they must eat huge amounts of grouper, snappers and lobsters to grow that fast.

The Science Answers: False.

The goliath grouper diet is explained in myth #1. As for a formidable speed of growth, we must focus on the juvenile phase. Fish have indeterminate growth, which means, they keep increasing in length and weight throughout their life, unlike us and other mammals, who reach our maximum length (height in our case) at a determined adult age. During the juvenile phase (from birth until reaching sexual maturity), fish experience their fastest growth rate, which then decreases progressively throughout the rest of their life.

Goliath grouper juveniles migrate from their mangrove juvenile habitat to their adult reef habitat at about 8 years old, measuring 110 cm-120 cm in length [3]. This gives a maximum juvenile growth rate of 15 cm/year or 6 inches/year, as the maximum growth speed during the lifetime of an individual goliath grouper. This is the same speed at which our hair grows (!). Obviously not a mythical speed of growth.

Myth #3

Goliath grouper are a pest. They are everywhere.

The Science Answers: False.

This myth is a common problem of the “shifting baselines syndrome” [7], whereby fishers accept abundance and size information from more and more recent periods as baselines. Once commercial extinction occurred in the late 1980s, goliath grouper were absent in Florida reefs. Such absence became a new baseline, to the new anglers and spearfishers moving to Florida. Since the 1990 fishing moratorium, goliath grouper are in a path of recovery, slowly returning to their original distribution area. Therefore, every new grouper encountered represents a 100 % increase for someone with a zero-grouper baseline.

Site attachment, available habitat and spawning aggregation behavior [3,8, 9] also contribute to perceiving goliath grouper as a pest. Goliaths usually remain in the same site after they recruit to the reef. Hence the abundance of one single goliath grouper is multiplied by as many fishers or divers that have encountered it. Available hard bottom structure, specially in regions which lack natural reef habitat or where this habitat has been degraded, also concentrates goliath groupers, giving an artificial perception of over-abundance to the observer. Finally, spawning aggregations concentrate all the adult goliath grouper throughout the reef in one single location, compounding a false sense of overabundance to the casual observer. Only the few “old-timers” left in Florida, those that were fishing in the 1950s and 1960s, have experienced the extinction and path towards recovery of goliath grouper. Interestingly, these fishers are the most supportive of continued goliath grouper conservation.

Myth #4

Re-opening the fishery will provide a healthy food source for consumers. 

The Science Answers: False.

We must remember that goliath grouper reached commercial extinction in the late 1980s. The species is extremely vulnerable to overfishing due to its slow growth, long life (possibly exceeding four decades), late sexual maturity (up to 8 years), strong site fidelity, the formation of spawning aggregations, and being unafraid of divers (even those with spearguns) [3,8]. Even recreational fishing could be extremely damaging as it has been demonstrated for other fish species: recreational landings in the US seriously impact many of the most-valued overfished species [10].

When the fishery existed, goliath groupers were mostly targeted for trophy fishing, that is, catching the biggest fish for show and tell. When the fish meat was used, 90 % of it was ground for fertilizer use or ended up in canned food for pets (dogs and cats). There were several reports of drugs being smuggled inside the carcasses of dead goliaths, in their way to northern states. The closure of the fishery did not result in direct starvation to any US citizen.

While it is true goliath grouper are the largest grouper fish in the Atlantic ocean, and the second largest grouper fish in the world, just behind the giant grouper of the Indo-Pacific (Epinephelus lanceolatus), big size does not necessarily translate to food source. Here, we must be concerned about health risks. Since goliath grouper are a coastal species, with a prolonged juvenile phase living in mangrove habitats, they accumulate in their tissues the pollution we generate in our modern way of living, by the effect of bioaccumulation (toxins ingested with their prey). Indeed, muscle tissue in goliath grouper commonly contain methyl mercury -a toxic form of mercury which causes dangerous cardiovascular and neurological effects in humans-, often exceeding the United States governmental advisory criteria for human health [5]. Goliath grouper also die when red tides, or Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) from the dinoflagellate algae Karenia brevis, occur. Brevetoxin (a toxin produced by the dinoflagellate) is a potent neurotoxin that causes serious illness in humans who ingest marine life containing the toxin, or if they inhale the toxin aerosols [11]. HAB-originated fish kills in which huge numbers of goliath grouper die occur during multi-species mortality events, when manatees, dolphins and seaturtles also die. It has been demonstrated that the cause of death for the marine mammals is due to the ingestion of prey which contained the brevetoxin, and by the process of bioaccumulation, enough brevetoxin accumulated in the animal’s tissues to become the cause of death [12]. Preliminary data suggest brevetoxin accumulation is also the cause of death in goliath grouper (Frias-Torres, unpublished data). Hence, consumption of goliath grouper fillets could pose an additional brevetoxin health risk for humans. Finally, studies on pesticide levels contained in goliath grouper tissue have not been completed, but it is possible they follow a similar bioaccumulation pattern than that of methylmercury and brevetoxin.

Myth #5

There are too many goliath grouper out there. We must use this resource for the benefit of the fishermen, so we have to do something about this, such as a limited recreational take, with a tag or permit system.

The Science Answers: False.

The perception of goliath grouper invading every crevice of the reef has been discussed in myth #3, and is due to the “shifting baselines syndrome” explained there.

Spearfishers and hook-and-liners wiped out the goliath grouper population in U.S. waters in the late 1980s reaching commercial extinction [3, 13]. Goliath grouper are extremely easy to catch: they are unafraid of divers, they present site attachment (remain in the same site once they recruit to the mangroves as juveniles and to the reef as adults), and all the goliaths of the State congregate once a year at a reduced number of sites to form spawning aggregations, and reproduce. It will be extremely difficult to justify the socioeconomic, management and ethical reasons for opening a limited recreational take, mainly due to the potential health risks for human consumption (explained above), the lack of “sport” in killing such a catchable species, and the potential of localized extinction events when tags or permits were used in a short time window or limited geographic range.

A live goliath grouper is more valuable than a dead one. And here relies the true benefit for fishers and other Florida taxpayers. Tourists come from all over the country, and all over the world just to scuba dive with goliath grouper. This is a tremendous source of tourist dollars for the state of Florida, not only for the diving business – each diver pays $100-$140  for a two-tank dive, depending on gear rented-, but also for the associated businesses, as the tourist-divers need to eat, sleep, and drive. Ironically, the same qualities that make goliath grouper extremely vulnerable to overfishing and extinction, also make them a great ecotourist attraction: they are huge, long-lived, unafraid of divers, remain in the same reef site, and form spawning aggregations.

Direct benefit to fishers and the state of Florida also relies on other potential ecosystem services goliath grouper provide, specially in these times of economic and environmental crisis. The invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a voracious predator of juvenile reef fish and it is causing major disruptions in Atlantic reefs, in conjunction with habitat destruction and global climate change [14]. The lack of big predators able to feed and survive the poisonous spines of lionfish favors the expansion of this invader. However, the goliath grouper’s adaptation to feed on slow-moving venom-spined or skin-poisonous fish (catfish, stingrays, cowfish, burrfish, pufferfish), could potentially become our best ally to fight against such destructive invader, and perhaps successfully preserve and rebuild Florida’s reef fish communities.

Literature Cited

[1] Smith CL. 1971. A revision of the American groupers: Epinephelus and allied genera. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 146, 69-241.

[2] Bullock LH, Smith GB. 1991. Seabasses (Pisces: Serranidae). Memoirs of the Hourglass Cruises 8 (2), 1-243.

[3] Sadovy Y, Eklund AM. 1999. Synopsis of biological information on the Nassau Grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Bloch 1792), and the jewfish, E. itajara (Lichtenstein 1822). NOAA Technical Report NMFS 146, Seattle, Washington. 65 pp.

[4] Koenig CC, Coleman FC. 2009. Population density, demographics, and predation effects of adult goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara). Final Report to NOAA MARFIN for Project NA05NMF4540045.

[5] Evers DC, Graham RT, Perkins CP, Michener R. 2009. Mercury concentration in the goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) of Belize: and anthropological stressor. Endang. Species Res. 7:249-256. Open Access http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2009/7/n007p249.pdf

[6] Frias Torres, S.  2013.  Should critically endangered goliath groupers, Epinephelus itajara, be culled in Florida?  Oryx 47 (1):  88-95. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8807528

[7] Pauly D. 1995. Anecdotes and the shifting baselines syndrome in fisheries. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10: 430.

[8] Frias-Torres S. 2006. Habitat use by juvenile goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, in the Florida Keys, USA. Endangered Species Research 2: 1-6. Open Access http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2006/2/n002p001.pdf

[9] Frias-Torres S, Barroso P, Eklund A-M, Schull J, Serafy J. 2007. Activity patterns of juvenile goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, in a mangrove nursery. Bulletin of Marine Science 80: 587-594.

[10] Coleman FC, Figueira WF, Ueland JS, Crowder LB. 2004. The impact of United States recreational fisheries on marine fish populations. Science 305: 1958 – 1960.

[11] Steidinger KA. 1993. Algal Toxins in Seafood and Drinking Water (ed. Falconer, I.) 1-28 , Academic Press, London.

[12] Flewelling LJ and 20 authors. 2005. Red tides and marine mammal mortalities. Nature. Vol 435: 755-756

[13] McClenachan L. 2009. Historical declines of goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) populations of South Florida, USA. Endang. Species Res. 7:175-181. Open Access http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2009/7/n007p175.pdf

[14] Albins MA, Hixon MA. 2008. Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) reduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes. Mar Ecol. Prog. Ser., 367:233-238.

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Goliath Groupers Under Review

May 6, 2013 //
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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

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)

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