November 28th, 2016 โ After many years of a fishing ban in the U.S. on this endangered species, the goliath grouper population is recovering as sports fishermen and charter boat operators in the Keys report that the 800-pound fish has been causing big trouble according to National Geographic.
Fished to near-extinction in its western north Atlantic habitat by 1990, the goliath grouper was listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Goliath groupers, long-lived fish that could reach 40 years old, can grow up to eight feet in length.
โThere are a lot of spots we donโt go to anymore because you wonโt catch anything,โ said Brice Barr, a charter boat skipper and president of the Key West Charter Fishermenโs Association. โThe goliaths will catch every single fish that you hook. They hear the sound of our boats and thatโs the dinner bell. They know they are going to get fed.โ
Groupers are also blamed for the Florida reefโs dwindling snapper and smaller grouper stock, leading fisherman to petition for the fishing ban to be lifted. โTheyโre not selective in what they eat,โ Barr continued. โIf you ask most fishermen, they say we need to get rid of the goliath. These top predators are becoming so protected, they are starting to prey more and more on the rest of the fish.โ