The Atlantic goliath grouper or itajara (''Epinephelus itajara''), formerly known as the jewfish, is a saltwater fish of the

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" ...

family and one of the largest species of

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartil ...

. The species can be found in the west ranging from northeastern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, south throughout the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...

, and along

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In the west Pacific it ranges from Mexico to Peru.Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822)
''FishBase'' In the east the species ranges in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

to Cabinda. The species has been observed at depths ranging from 1 to 100 meters (3 to 328 feet).

Description

The Atlantic goliath grouper can grow to lengths of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) and weigh up to 363 kilograms (800 pounds). The species ranges in coloration from brownish yellow to grey to greenish and has small black dots on the head, body and fins. Individuals less than 1 meter (3.28 feet) in length have 3 to 4 faint vertical bars present on their sides. The species has an elongate body with a broad, flat head and small eyes. The lower jaw has 3 to 5 rows of teeth with no front canines. The scales are

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as ...

. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

s are continuous with the rays of the soft dorsal fin being longer than the spines of the first dorsal fin. The

pectoral fins Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...

are rounded and notably larger than the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two ...

s. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is also rounded. The species typically preys on slow moving

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

and

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapoda, decapods, ostracoda, seed shrimp, branchiopoda, branchiopods, argulidae, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopoda, isopods, barnacles, copepods, ...

Habitat

Adult individuals are typically found in rocky reefs, wrecks,

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many ...

s, and

oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

s. The species can also be found in

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

habitats, but are much more abundant in rocky reef environments. Juveniles mainly inhabit

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

environments, but can also be found in holes and under ledges of swift tidal creeks that drain mangroves. Mangroves serve as an essential

nursery habitat In marine environments, a nursery habitat is a subset of all habitats where juveniles of a species occur, having a greater level of productivity per unit area than other juvenile habitats (Beck et al. 2001). Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass ar ...

for the Atlantic goliath grouper and necessitate specific suitable water conditions to nurture healthy, sustained goliath grouper populations. Juvenile goliath groupers may remain in mangrove nursery habitats for 5 to 6 years before leaving towards deeper offshore reef habitats at around 1 meter in length.

Reproduction

The Atlantic goliath grouper has a longevity of 37 years and reaches first maturity after 6 years, which leads to an estimated generation length of 21.5 years. The species has been hypothesized to be protogynous

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have ...

s, but this has yet to be confirmed. Males become sexually mature at around 115 centimeters (45 in) in length, and at ages 4–6. Females mature at around 125 centimeters (49 in), and at ages 6–8. The species has relatively small

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

aggregations of less than 150 individuals with no evidence of spawning outside of these aggregations.

Conservation

Atlantic goliath groupers are highly susceptible to rapid population decline due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in t ...

and the exploitation of spawning aggregations. The species has a brief annual larval settlement period, making the species' abundance extremely vulnerable to outside factors such as poor weather conditions. High mercury concentrations in older males may lead to liver damage and/or death and reduce egg viability. The degradation of

s, which serve as an important

for the species provide a major threat to juvenile survival. The species was previously classified as critically endangered in 2011 and is currently classified as vulnerable in 2021. A 2016 stock assessment model indicates that there has been an absolute population reduction of around 33% from 1950 to 2014. There has been a complete moratorium on the fishing of this species in continental U.S. waters since 1990 and in U.S. Caribbean waters since 1993. In October 2021, Florida Fish and Wildlife proposed to allow the fishing of 200 juvenile goliath grouper per year including up to 50 from Everglades National Park. Fishing would be permitted in all state waters except those of Palm Beach County south through the Atlantic coast of the Keys. Final approval of the proposal is scheduled for March 2022.

Etymology

The Atlantic goliath grouper was historically referred to as the "jewfish". The name's origin is unclear. A 1996 review of the term's history from its first recorded usage in 1697 concluded that the species' physical characteristics were frequently connected to "mainstay caricatures of anti-Semitic beliefs", whereas the interpretation that the fish was regarded as

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

food had little support. Alternate explanations include derivation from the Italian word "''giupesce''", which means "bottom fish", or mispronunciation of the name "jawfish". In 2001, the

American Fisheries Society The American Fisheries Society (established 1870 in New York City), is the "world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources." It is a mem ...

changed the name to "goliath grouper" after complaints that the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

was culturally insensitive.

References

External links

Florida Museum of Natural History description
including alternate names * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1920243 Epinephelus Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of Cuba Fish of the Dominican Republic Sport fish Fish described in 1822 Taxa named by Hinrich Lichtenstein