Are you Ready to Harvest Goliath Grouper?

Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) is the largest grouper species in the Atlantic Ocean weighing up to 800 pounds.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will meet October 6 and October 7, 2021, in St. Augustine and may vote on whether to approve or modify a proposed change to fishing regulations for goliath grouper, a species that has been protected from harvest in state and federal waters since 1990.

Historically, goliath grouper range from Florida to Brazil, throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean but their abundance in the U.S. is concentrated in South Florida. FWC manages goliath grouper in Florida state waters. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic Council) manage goliaths in federal waters.

According to FWC’s website, the goliath’s large size made them susceptible to overfishing and their tendency to gather in large numbers at predictable locations such as offshore reefs.

Prior to 1983, there were no regulatory measures specific to the harvest of goliath grouper in state or federal waters and the population began declining in the 1950s and worsened in the 1980s. 

In 1983, the South Atlantic Council banned spearing of goliath grouper and in 1990, harvest of the fish was banned in state and federal waters.

According to FWC, currently, the only access provided to anglers is through catch-and-release fishing and recreational divers through sightseeing opportunities.

What are the proposed regulations?

FWC staff has been working on developing new fishing regulations for goliath grouper and will vote on these proposed rules:

• The harvest of up to 200 goliath grouper per year, with harvest opportunities awarded via randomly draw lottery with a maximum of one permit and tag per person per year.
• A lottery application fee of $10 and, if awarded, a permit fee of $500.
• A slot limit of 20 to 36 inches total length.
• Hook-and-line as the only allowable gear.
• An annual open harvest season of March 1 through May 31.
• Harvest allowed in all state waters except those of Palm Beach County south through the Atlantic coast of Monroe County.
• A requirement for participants to submit harvest and biological information.
• I visited with Randy Hamilton of Wild Thing Charters to ask for his input. Randy has been fishing our offshore waters since 1987. He supports the proposed harvest along with a limited season of two to three months.

My family has gone out with Randy on numerous occasions to fish for goliath grouper. We’ve experienced goliaths aggressively snatching our bait and catch in the water – like stealing candy from a baby.

Randy is of the opinion that goliaths put pressure on other species of fish in the reefs. He used to catch a lot of gag groupers or snappers but not anymore. They have been replaced by a lot of small goliath groupers. Goliaths congregate in the offshore artificial reefs, ledges and wrecks and their population is very high.

Randy is not in favor of spearfishing goliaths. They are very easy to spear due to their size. In terms of its ecotourism value, about 60-70% of Wild Thing’s charter business is goliath grouper’s catch and release. According to Randy, people love catching a big fish and the goliath is a behemoth!

For the anglers, it is the thrill of the chase and the pull. You can pull certain sizes up, remove the hook and put it back immediately. For the ultimate photo op, anglers can jump into the water and swim with the goliath while the hook is being removed.

The FWC Commission encourages written public comments. Submit them in advance of the FWC meeting no later than 5:00 PM EST on October 1, 2021, by going to the “about us” page on the FWC website. Under Commissioners, select “Contact The Commissioners”.