NASSAU GROUPER
The Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) is a large fish found around coral reefs, from the shore up to nearly 100 meters in depth. It lives in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda, Florida, the Bahamas and from north to south Brazil, but also in a few specific places in the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the coast of Belize. It is a solitary fish, feeding during the day mainly on other fish and small crustaceans such as crabs and small lobsters. It breeds in December and January, always at the time of the full moon, and always in the same places. In the light of the full moon, large numbers of Nassau groupers congregate to mate all together.
The Nassau grouper was placed on the Red List of Threatened Species in 1996, and it was placed on that list because its population has declined by 60% over the past 30 years (see this link in French). It is estimated that over a third of the breeding groups have disappeared and this grouper is considered commercially extinct in some areas.
Nassau grouper (July 2016)
With this double video shot in July 2016, we can see a young Nassau grouper hovering over the remains of an old wreck. We can already see that the dark and light longitudinal bands which are one of the characteristics specific to the Nassau grouper are already present in its juvenile stage.
