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Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara)
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Potential Harvest for Research
The harvest and possession of goliath grouper has been prohibited in both state and federal waters off Florida since 1990, when population levels were determined to be very low. Since that time, there have been substantial increases in abundance in certain areas (e.g., Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor and the Ten Thousand Islands), and the distribution of goliath grouper populations has extended into areas of its former range throughout Florida, including the Big Bend and Panhandle regions. However, goliath grouper are still considered to be overfished. The most recent stock assessment (SEDAR 6, 2004) indicated that the goliath grouper populations in south Florida waters were recovering, but may not be fully recovered until 2020 or later. Unfortunately, because the harvest of goliath grouper has been prohibited for nearly two decades, the conclusions of the stock assessment were made in the absence of certain biological information that is typically available for other species through the examination of harvested individuals.
To address this problem, the FWC and the National Marine Fisheries
Service have been discussing whether a limited scientific harvest of
goliath grouper is needed to better assess the health of the population.
In August, 2007, the FWC held a meeting of scientists and interested
stakeholders to identify what information regarding goliath grouper
biology and life history was lacking, and whether it is necessary to use
lethal methods to acquire this information. A follow-up meeting
has been scheduled to allow scientists to develop a list of research
priorities and propose a coordinated research effort.
The Division of Marine Fisheries Management briefed the Commission on
this issue at their meeting in St. Petersburg on September 14, 2007.
For more information please view the
Federal Issues Report.