Archives for posts with tag: FWC

The Courage to Save Goliath Groupers

April 9, 2018 //
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Grace, Braveheart, Wilbur, Salt & Pepper, Pokemon, Julius… they are my friends, and they are the last of their kin. The Goliath Groupers are the gentle giants of Florida. They have gone extinct in most of the Atlantic Ocean. We almost lost them all due to overfishing. Today, Florida is the only place in the world where we can see Goliaths in mangroves (as babies) in the reefs ( as adults) and in spawning aggregations (getting together to breed). This is a direct result of a 1990 federal and state moratorium on harvest.

All Groupers Plate v2

Photo Credits: Grace by M. Eakin, Braveheart by A.C. Egan, Wilbur by A.C. Egan, Salt & Pepper by P. Barroso, Pokemon by S. Frias-Torres, Julius by P. Barroso

On April 26, 2018, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will vote on a proposal to kill the critically endangered Goliath Grouper. The proposal is labelled as a “limited take”. If approved, the take will allow the killing of 400 breeding adults. Such action will reverse 28 years of protection because it will decimate most of the breeding population in Florida: the mamas and the papas needed to restore the population.

Goliath Groupers have no voice. They have no vote at the negotiating table.

What can you do? You can be the voice of the voiceless and your courage to speak up will save the Goliath Groupers.

Here’s how you can do it.

First, watch this 7-minute video explaining the science-based evidence on why Goliath Groupers need continued protection.

 

Second, do one or more of the following to tell FWC Commissioners Goliath Groupers must me protected and why.

.- Attend the FWC public meeting on April 26, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. You can be added to the list of public comments, and you are assigned 3 minutes to speak up. Notice the meeting on the 26th starts at 8:30 AM and you need to sign up for your public comment before the start of the meeting. So getting there at 8:00 AM will give you enough time to do so.

http://www.myfwc.com/about/commission/commission-meetings/2018/april/25/agenda/

.- Call the FWC Commissioners (850-487-0554)

.- Write an email to the FWC Commissioners

commissioners@MyFWC.com

Let’s work together to save the gentle giants.

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Categories Marine Conservation

DEMA supports science-based Goliath Grouper protection

August 10, 2017 //
0

The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), is the international trade association for the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry. DEMA supports the continued protection of Goliath Groupers in Florida.

Tom Ingram, DEMA President and CEO, recently wrote a letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regarding their proposal that, if approved, would allow killing the critically endangered Goliath Grouper.

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

Today, Tom Ingram is my guest blogger. Here is the letter he sent to FWC, copied to Rick Scott, Florida Governor, Nick Wiley, FWC Executive Director, Bob L. Harris, Esq., attorney in Tallahassee and the DEMA Board of Directors.

August 8, 2017

From: Tom Ingram, President and CEO Diving Equipment and Marketing Association 3750 Convoy Street Suite 310, San Diego, CA 92111

To: Chairman Brian Yablonski Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Farris Bryant Building 620 S. Meridian St., Tallahassee, FL 32399

Dear Commissioner Yablonski:

Having reviewed the “Goliath Grouper Review and Discussion” produced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) for presentation on February 8, 2017, as well as for Goliath Grouper Workshops slated for August through October 2017, I am writing to express our concerns regarding the possible lifting of the current moratorium on harvesting these animals.

The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) is the international trade association for the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry. DEMA has more than 1,400 business members worldwide, and represents the interests of diving manufacturers, diver training organizations, the diving-related magazines and media, diving retailers and dive travel and dive charter operators. DEMA’s mission is to bring businesses together to grow the diving industry worldwide, and our goals include promoting recreational scuba diving and snorkeling, while protecting the underwater environment.

DEMA is aware of the lead role FWC took in the 2013-2016 stock assessment conducted by the Joint Ad Hoc Council Goliath Grouper Committee. We applaud the FWC for this effort, and we support such periodic stock assessments when they include sound scientific inquiry and input from all user groups affected by any change in the current harvesting status.

As you know, in 2016 the results of this Council’s assessment were rejected by a group of independent scientists for use in management of the stocks of goliath grouper in federal waters, pointing to the fact that, “the results were not deemed suitable primarily because of missing information needed to generate an accurate ‘model’ of the fishery.”

The many challenges to assessing this species, as outlined on February 8, 2017, FWC presentation, point to the need for further study prior to opening this species to a harvest of any kind. Therefore, DEMA favors the following:

1. Maintaining the current harvesting status of the goliath grouper in Florida; that is, harvest and possession should be prohibited.

2. FWC or NOAA (or another appropriate agency or scientific organization) should undertake a more thorough stock assessment of the goliath grouper that satisfies the need for accurate scientific data on stocks of these fish.

3. FWC or NOAA (or another appropriate agency or scientific organization) should conduct additional research on the age of these creatures, such that any future assessment would have more validity.

4. FWC should review its current regulations to determine if protections for goliath grouper could be implemented commensurate with protections afforded to manatees.

DEMA’s position is taken in recognition of FWC’s own list of assessment challenges and the 2016 conclusion that information needed to generate an accurate model of the fishery was missing. Without solid scientific evidence of recovery, it appears that the goliath grouper remains vulnerable to overfishing due to (among several reasons) late maturity, slow growth and is subject to large scale mortality.

As the Commission is also aware, over the last twenty-seven years during which harvesting was prohibited, goliath grouper have become extremely popular hosts to underwater habitats and are mentioned frequently by visiting/tourist divers who greatly enjoy watching these remarkable creatures roam the ocean floor. The goliath grouper’s size, visibility, low birth rate and slow movement seem to trace another of Florida’s truly majestic waterborne creatures, the manatee, a protected species that also has considerable ecotourism value. If harvesting is allowed without verified stock assessments, goliath grouper could easily be thrown back to species extinction.

Goliath WStearns MG111 Edited

Goliath Grouper spawning aggregation. SCUBA divers from all over Florida, the USA and the world pay to dive with these gentle giants in Florida. Photo credit: W. Stearns

In addition to concern regarding the stocks of these fish, DEMA also relies on the opinions of divers and dive-related businesses regarding the current harvesting status of goliath grouper. In a July 2017 DEMA survey of divers and dive professionals, more than 69% indicated their desire to maintain the current moratorium on harvesting the goliath grouper. Among those located in Florida, 64% indicated a desire to maintain the moratorium, while among those traveling to Florida to dive and see the goliath grouper while diving (bringing tourist and tax revenue to the state) the number rose to more than 77%.

With the results of studies included in FWC’s February 8, 2017 presentation indicating high levels of mercury in the flesh of goliath grouper, and with a high economic value among divers, especially those from outside of Florida who are willing to pay $336.00 to see these fish (as compared to a maximum of $79 for fishers to harvest a goliath grouper), it seems most appropriate economically and scientifically to maintain the moratorium on the goliath grouper harvest.

DEMA strongly recommends maintaining the current prohibition on harvesting the goliath grouper.

Thank you for your careful consideration of this issue.

Sincerely,

Tom Ingram President and CEO

cc: Governor Rick Scott

Nick Wiley, Executive Director, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

Bob L. Harris, Esq., Tallahassee

DEMA Board of Directors

 

 

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Categories Marine Conservation

Fish Are Wildlife

February 2, 2017 //
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The greatest tragedy in the Goliath Grouper story is that the institutions in charge of managing its survival can’t see beyond the “fishery” label.

Open Letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

February 2, 2017

FWC Commissioners,

Recently, at a Facebook post, FWC made the following statement: “all wild animals deserve respect and space”. Once again, FWC is holding a meeting to discuss whether a wild animal deserves respect and space. On February 8, 2017, FWC will review the status of Goliath Grouper and “management strategies that could be considered in the future that could potentially provide additional information about this species in Florida”. This is code for discussing a potential reopening of the fishery. The same discussion was held in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2014, with various killing proposals. All proposals were finally rejected in view of the scientific evidence and stakeholder opposition. As a reminder, Goliath Groupers live in the slow lane, with juvenile females entering the adult population by 8 years old (close to the age of menarche in girls or age of first menstruation), and they have a maximum lifespan beyond 40 years (perhaps 60 to 100 years old). For such a long lived fish, a 2 to 3-year difference between assessments to reopen the fishery is absurd.

The greatest tragedy in the Goliath Grouper story is that the institutions in charge of managing its survival can’t see beyond the “fishery” label.

Fish are wildlife. They are not commodities. They are an integral part of marine and freshwater ecosystems. They are not numbers in stock assessment models but animals with complex life histories. We kill fish to eat them. Sometimes we kill so many of them they go extinct, or almost. We killed so many Goliath Groupers once in Florida and the Southeastern USA they reached commercial extinction. This is the reason for the 1990 state and federal moratorium on harvest.

fig-1-jf-historic

Historic photo when the largest Goliath Groupers were killed in Key West, Florida, USA. Photo Credit: Anonymous

It takes 27 years to grow a 27 year old Goliath Grouper. The obvious gets lost in our current economy ruled by quarterly profits. Such short-term approach permeates through FWC when you 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”, with the labels of “scientific take”, “culling”, “selected take” and various creative language.

The reason most frequently used to reopen a recreational take of Goliath Grouper is the perception that Goliath Groupers eat everything and are responsible for declining fish and lobster stocks. This is an urban legend with no connection to reality. Research done by myself and others shows that overfishing, not Goliath Groupers, is the reason for declining fish and lobster stocks. In fact, Goliath Groupers eat predators of juvenile lobsters, allowing more lobsters to grow to legal size and making more lobsters available to fishers.

Sometimes the need to “thin the herd” is also used as a reason to reopen the Goliath Grouper fishery. However, the thinning is already happening because Goliaths are killed for several reasons, from the mundane (red tides, poaching) to the exotic (death by nuclear reactor). In 2005, extensive red tides killed close to 100 adult Goliath Groupers in the west coast of Florida. This is a recovery setback because we lost individuals capable of producing the next generations. In the 2009 and 2010 winters, extreme cold water temperatures in Florida killed 90 % of juvenile Goliath Groupers living in mangrove shorelines. This is another setback because we lost fish that were unable to reproduce at all, and therefore contributed nothing to the recovery. In August 2011, over 75 adult Goliath Groupers were killed at the St. Lucie nuclear power plant in Fort Pierce, Florida. The fish were trapped in the plant’s water intake canal. This is a major manmade disaster. FWC and NOAA promised improved contingency measures, but the intake canal and the danger remains.

Poaching of Goliath Grouper exists. FWC enforcement is aware of it. We also know there’s targeted catch and release, even when it represents a violation of the ongoing moratorium, plus there is “possession” in the sense that Goliaths are held out of the water to take pictures, which eventually show in social media, in sport fishing magazines, etc. (another violation of the moratorium). We don’t know how many of the “released” Goliaths actually survive (after fighting on the line and posing for pictures while drowning).

Lastly, some fishers say they want to kill Goliath Groupers to eat them. Goliaths have such high levels of methyl mercury that they are deemed unsafe for human consumption.

Goliath Grouper spawning aggregation or singles bar

TODAY: Goliath grouper spawning aggregation re-forming in east Florida thanks to a 27-year fishing ban implemented after reaching commercial extinction in the 1980s. Photo Credit: Walt Stearns

What economic benefits can we get from Goliath Groupers? I’m aware these days species must pay forward for their own protection and Goliath Groupers have been doing so quietly and in abundance. Although the species has not recovered to pre-exploitation levels, enough Goliath Groupers are showing up at a few spawning aggregation sites that their presence, and the SCUBA divers that come to visit them, bring a much needed lifesaver to small businesses in Florida, between late August and early October, just when transition between the summer and winter seasons will leave these businesses in the doldrums. Here, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, because every individual Goliath Grouper contributes to the underwater spectacle of a spawning aggregation, which is what the scuba divers pay to see. In this sense, every single Goliath Grouper is precious and has value by itself, and brings added value when forming a spawning aggregation.

Goliath Grouper and Sarah

Goliath Grouper meets Dr. Sarah Frias-Torres. Photo Credit: Steve Karm

A live Goliath Grouper is more valuable than a dead one. And living Goliaths will keep forming spawning aggregations and contributing to the Florida economy for as long as they live.

Killing Goliath Groupers is not supported by scientific research. Continuing their protection ensures the livelihoods of Florida businesses and workers because SCUBA divers from all over Florida, the USA and the world come here to see these spectacular gentle giants. Florida is now the only place in the world where we can find Goliath Groupers reliably in any significant numbers.

For all these reasons, I urge the FWC Commission to grant Goliath Groupers wildlife status and designate this species as a non-consumptive fish for ecotourism. Scientists from FWC and other institutions can work together to manage the species for conservation.

Sincerely

Sarah FriasTorres, Ph.D.

Twitter: @GrouperDoc

Blog: https://grouperluna.wordpress.com/

Academia:http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres

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Categories Fisheries Science, Marine Conservation, Uncategorized

Grouper Etiquette

September 16, 2016 //
3

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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Death by Nuclear Reactor

May 9, 2012 //
1

…From the Grouper Chronicles…

“Last summer I almost died in my quest for love. I wanted to visit my usual singles bar. Two summers ago, I saw a pretty girl there but she gave me the cold fin. So I was going along with my buddies, following the reef, when we stopped in a cave to rest for a while. There was a powerful current taking us deeper into the cave. We couldn’t fight it. After smashing our bodies along the strange cave, we ended up in a canal. We tried really hard to get back to the ocean but we were trapped. Many jellyfish came along the same cave and ended up in the canal. A few days later, the water started to smell bad, it was impossible to breath, and the jellyfish stung our eyes, and scarred our faces There were so many of us tapped in that hell.

Death came slowly and painfully. Those around me were booming their last goodbyes. Strange human creatures took me out of there. At first, I thought they wanted to kill me but, to my surprise, I was set free into the reef I came from. I kept swimming as fast as I could, all alone, trying to forget the friends that didn’t make it. When I arrived to the singles bar, my body full of cuts and scars  was quite a magnet for the ladies. My near death adventure was the talk of the town. On a moonlit night, I joined the love dance. Something my trapped and dead buddies will never do. Next year, I won’t go near that reef from hell. It’s too much danger for a lifetime”

“This is the singles bar I wanted to visit. I’m the gorgeous male on the foreground”

“These are my buddies who suffered a slow and painful death”

The events explained here are based on a true story. On August 22-25, 2011, a massive influx of jellyfish shut down the St. Lucie nuclear power plant in Fort Pierce, Florida. As a collateral damage, the event resulted in a massive kill of protected goliath groupers already trapped in the plant’s water intake canal.

Early estimates are around 50-75 adult goliath groupers but they could be higher. Considering the species is critically endangered throughout the Atlantic ocean, and in the United States it’s in a slow path towards recovery from near extinction, losing such a significant number of the breeding population is a major setback towards recovery. An article at the Palm Beach Post reported the entire incident.

The nuclear power plant intake pipes, located 21 feet deep, 1,200 feet offshore Fort Pierce (two pipes 12 feet in diameter each, 1 pipe 16 feet in diameter) are in line with a series of worm reefs heavily used by marine wildlife from seaturtles to manatees, reef fishes and goliath groupers. Lacking proper screens, the pipes regularly suction passing marine wildlife. Once trapped, they cannot escape and return to the ocean. Seaturtles are periodically collected and released free. But the same is not always done with the trapped goliath groupers. All seaturtle species and goliath groupers are protected under federal and state regulations. Why release one group and not the other? Once the groupers are trapped in the canals, they are lost to the population, because they’ll never be able to reach a spawning aggregation and reproduce.

Scientists (including myself) were outraged at the massive fish kill because it could have been prevented, and we contacted the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposing an improved contingency plan to avoid further fish mortalities. This action resulted in a new FWC protocol during fish kills.

But as we approach the 1 year anniversary of the nuclear fish kill, I don’t see the changes I expected.

Without any major changes in the intake pipes, seasonal swarms of jellyfish might force again to shut down the nuclear reactor. And without periodic releases of trapped marine wildlife back into the ocean, death by nuclear reactor is still a reality for the protected goliath groupers of Florida.

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