Grouper

Where it lives

Groupers occupy coral reefs, rocky outcrops, and wrecks across tropical and warm-temperate seas worldwide. Species range from small inshore reef fish to giant goliath and Queensland groupers approaching three meters and several hundred kilograms.

How to recognise it

A robust, deep body with a broad, heavy head and a wide, downturned mouth bristling with small teeth. Most groupers are mottled or blotched with brown, green, red, or black on a paler ground; many can shift color within seconds. The dorsal fin is long-based with stout spines.

Diet & behavior

Groupers are sit-and-wait ambush predators that lurk near coral heads or in caves and engulf passing fish, octopus, and crustaceans with explosive suction. Many species change sex from female to male as they grow. Spawning aggregations form on predictable reef sites.

Fisheries & Conservation

Many species are listed as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, or Endangered. Spawning aggregations are highly vulnerable to overfishing; several Caribbean and Indo-Pacific stocks have collapsed.