GOLIATH GROUPERS
There are 2 species of giant groupers, epinephelus itajara or goliath grouper (formerly known as jewfish) and epinephelus lanceolatus whose range covers the entire Indo-Pacific tropical basin with the exception of the Persian Gulf. On this link, I present you the goliath grouper that lives in the Atlantic Ocean, mainly in Florida or all around the Gulf of Mexico to the Brazilian coast, not forgetting the West African coast.
With nearly 3m in length for a weight up to 400 kgs but on average about 180 kgs for 1.30m in length, this predator although a little slow can sometimes become very fast and aggressive as can be seen on this link. Attacks on humans, though very infrequent, are in fact a response to what they feel like an intrusion into their domain.
They were so sought after by anglers but also by spearfishermen that they became an endangered species in the 80s and a total ban on fishing was established in Florida and the Caribbean in the early 90's. Since then, it has been noted a return of these fish and some would like to allow fishing them again. To find out about this fish, I recommend you to access to this portal in English that will connect you to numerous links, but also to see this link in French.
Within the issue #19 (January/February 2019) of the very beautiful French magazine "Plongez!", you will find an excellent article about the giant groupers of Florida with which my videos below were realized in 2014, 2016 and 2017 on wrecks located between 20 and 40m deep, off Tampa Bay (West Florida). In fact, in summer they come up from greater depths to gather on these wrecks which serve as reproduction areas during the spawning season.
Around the "Docs barge" wreck near Anna Maria Island (2014)
This wreck of about 25 m in length remains a mystery because no one knows how it arrived here off the island of Anna Maria on the west coast of Florida. It rests on the seabed by 18 m and it has decayed over the years to split in two in the year 2000. As shown in this video made in June 2014, this barge surrounded by schools of baitfish started in 2014 to be a refuge for some goliath groupers among them the one visible here.
Around the "Docs barge" wreck near Anna Maria Island (2017)
I came back in May and July 2017 on "Docs barge" where many goliath groupers (males and females) were present, meeting in a unique place for spawning and showing also the regeneration of the species over 3 years.
Around the "Docs barge" wreck near Anna Maria Island (2019)
Again in May 2019, I returned to the "Docs barge" not too far from Anna Maria Island in order to confirm the revival of goliath groupers as already verified in 2017 (see video on the left). So the (Juin 2017) National Geographic's article referenced below is really to the point.
Around the "Fin barge" wreck near d'Anna Maria Island (2016)
This barge, which I visited for the first time in August 2016, is located 40 km from the west coast of Florida and 10 km from "Docs barge". Lying 30m deep, it is upside down and owes its name to the "fin" shape of its 2 stern keels. Its bow displays a very visible opening on this video. Thanks to the presence of the diver who was with me, the size of the goliath groupers can be appreciated.
Around the "Fin barge" wreck near Anna Maria Island (2017)
Almost entirely made near the bow of this wreck where there is a characteristic opening of this kind of barge, this video shot in August 2017 makes it possible to see the quality improvement of videos while upgrading my camera GoPro HD3+ to my GoPro HD4 camera.
Around the "Fin barge" wreck near Anna Maria Island (2019)
Not only were the Goliath groupers still there, but there were even more than in 2017. Their presence in numbers was easily confirmed by the sounds they emit. Indeed, individuals of this species even small (less than 40cm long), are known to produce thuds and powerful sounds with the help of sonic muscles connecting their column and their swim bladder
In 2019, I went back to the wreck "Fin barge" because I had kept in mind the goliath groupers met in 2016 and 2017 (see the 2 videos above) and I wanted to know if there were always so many groupers, especially after the powerful hurricanes that were IRMA in September 2017 and MICHAEL in October 2018. While the wreck appeared to me very damaged, the goliath groupers were still there and on July 31, 2019 I shot the 3 videos displayed below.
Size of a goliath grouper vs size of a diver
To help you to have a better idea about the large size of these groupers, the following excerpt from the previous video shot over a wreck of a shrimpboat off Tarpon Springs displays them in a sort of parallel view with nearby divers.
To reinforce this comparison, I added to this excerpt a video shot on June 5, 2019 off Anna Maria Island along a pile of old concrete blocks used as an artificial reef.
Over a shrimpboat wreck near Tarpon Springs
If the 2 previous wrecks are close to each other, the wreck of this shrimpboat over which I shot in August 2017 the video below is located about 30 km further north, along the west coast from Florida, more precisely west of Tarpon Springs. Here again, one can only admire the resilience of nature in seeing such a concentration of goliath groupers gathered for spawning, a concentration still unknown a few years ago.
Young goliath over the "Fin barge" in July 2019
This little clip lets you realize the amazing growth that will transform this young goliath grouper barely 50 cm long, probably 4 or 5 years old, into a huge fish over 300 to 400 kg when he becomes a 15 to 16 years old adult.
Size of an angelfish vs. mouth size of a goliath grouper
In a previous video, you were able to compare the size of a goliath grouper with that of an adult diver. On this new video shot in July 2019 on the "Fin barge" wreck, you can compare the size of the mouth of a goliath grouper with the length of an adult angel fish, which is between 30 and 45 cm.
