Fishing for goliath grouper allowed in Florida

The first legal killing of goliath grouper in Florida in more than 30 years was approved Wednesday, over the objections of divers who photograph the huge fish among wrecks off the South Florida coast.

Capable of reaching 600 pounds or more, goliath grouper congregate around ships such as the M/V Castor, a former Dutch freighter seized for cocaine smuggling and sunk off Boynton Beach as an artificial reef. Unafraid of their human admirers, well-known goliaths have been given names such as Wilbur (who has his own Facebook

page), Shadow and Betty.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, meeting Wednesday in St. Augustine, gave preliminary approval for up to 200 of the younger fish to be killed in a three-month season beginning in March 2023.

Members of the commission, a seven-member board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, said the goliath grouper’s prospects have improved and it should be made available to Florida fishermen.

“It’s been closed since 1990,” Commissioner Robert Spottswood said at the meeting. “This stock is rebuilding. We’re hearing it can easily sustain this very small harvest of fish. We’re going to learn something from it. And more importantly, we’re going to give some access that we can give safely and sustainably back to the stakeholders who own the resource, and I believe it’s time we do so.”

Opponents of the catch won a few points. The catch will be restricted to juvenile fish, avoiding the prospect of fishermen hauling 500-pound goliath groupers from the ocean. And they can’t be taken off the South Florida coast from Martin County through the Keys, where they’re popular sights for divers, particularly off Palm Beach County.

The plan sets a size limit of 36 inches, or about the size of a kitchen trash can. It will be limited to 200 fish.

Shana Phelan, co-owner of Pura Vida Divers on Singer Island, told the wildlife commission that a catch that targets juveniles will diminish the number of adults at a time when mature fish are declining.

“We are seeing the adult populations diminishing, and this particular year has been unbelievably almost like a crash. Out of the Port of Palm Beach we had like six fish. It was brutal trying to find where they’re at. They’re not there,” Phelan said.

“We’re going to need juveniles coming in to replace this population. So we’re very concerned that this is not the right time to open up a harvest. We don’t know what’s happening to our adults.”

But many fishermen say the goliath grouper has become so abundant that it’s a nuisance, eating too many other fish and snatching the catches off their lines.

Zac Sturm, a Tampa Bay fishing captain who runs a sportfishing group and hosts a fishing radio show, said goliath grouper’s protected status allows them to gobble up other fish without any

check on their numbers.

“They are consuming the other valued reef species without any concern for a season, a bag limit etc.,” he told the commission. “And that right there is concern enough. We have multiple species that are being depleted as these fish continue to grow because they really are an apex predator.”

Many outside scientists say the species remains at risk, with low numbers, loss of mangrove habitat and continuing vulnerability to cold snaps, pollution and red tide. Scientists say there’s little evidence that the goliath grouper has reduced the population of fish sought by anglers, since analysis of their stomach contents finds mostly crabs, lobsters and small fish.

The wildlife commission’s staff said the goliath grouper’s numbers have improved.

“Goliath abundance is increasing in Florida,” said Jessica McCawley, director of the commission’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management. “And this positive trend is expected to continue.”

The plan represents a compromise that attempts to address the concerns of divers, conservationists and fishermen. Catch-andrelease fishing had already been allowed.

Although goliath grouper can reach more than 600 pounds, the proposal would prohibit the catch of the largest fish. The only ones that could be caught are those with lengths of 20-36 inches, which would be fish of about 5 to 32 pounds.

The decision Tuesday was a preliminary one, with the commission’s staff told to return with the details. One element that was questioned was the $500 permit fee, which some commissioners thought excessive. The first season would take place in 2023.