Atlantic Goliath Grouper - Meet The Endangered
Atlantic Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara)
The average grouper species weighs between 10 and 20 lbs. The massive Atlantic Goliath Grouper, on the other hand, can reach 363 kg (800 lbs) and 2.5 m (8 ft) in length, or roughly the size of a grand piano. The fish primarily ranges from Florida, through the Caribbean, and down the Atlantic coast of Brazil, with additional populations in West Africa and the Pacific side of Central America.
The Goliath is a bottom feeder, using its powerful mouth to suction calico crabs, spiny lobsters, and smaller fish off the ocean floor. As an adult, it indwells the placid environments of reefs and shipwrecks, and is commonly encountered by divers.
The greatest menace to the Atlantic Goliath Grouper is overfishing - a peril supercharged by the fish’s aeonian generation length of 21.5 years. Another is the destruction of mangroves, which it uses as a nursery habitat. The species has been protected in the United States since 1990, and has experienced a significant rebound in American waters. It remains critically endangered in Brazil.
IUCN: Vulnerable (VU)
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