Share your input on the future management of goliath grouper The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants your input on a final rule proposal that, if approved at the March 2022 Commission meeting, would allow a limited, highly regulated harvest of goliath grouper in Florida state waters. This proposal includes a special opportunity … Read more
Save the date for goliath grouper! The 12th Annual Great Goliath Grouper Count is scheduled to take place June 1–14, 2021. The Great Goliath Grouper Count is a stakeholder-driven effort, made possible through collaboration with Florida Sea Grant, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and county partners. Every year, the project provides a “snapshot” of goliath grouper abundance … Read more
Scuba Diving magazine named the Florida Keys among the worlds for 2020,. Florida Keys Diving.
The Florida Keys’ representative on the FWC board, Robert Spottswood, voiced frustration that it will take until at least 2022 before there could be enough science to make a decision about whether to reopen the fishery.
Acoustic telemetry is used to measure impacts of catch-and-release fishing on goliath grouper and to determine behavior patterns of this federally protected species. Background Goliath grouper (Serranidae: Epinephelus itajara) occur in tropical and subtropical waters from the west coast of Africa to the east coast of Florida, south to Brazil, and throughout the Gulf of … Read more
After a several-year hiatus, state fishery managers will again address the topic of reopening the Goliath grouper fishery. The fishery was closed in 1990 due to extreme overfishing. Next month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hear a presentation from fishery biologists and will begin to discuss possibly opening up the fishery to a … Read more