- REBREATHERS - SPORT DIVERS ... - Stingray Divers

But, like most threads, the stories
posted are based on opinions and
anecdotal stories with little to no
verifiable evidence or even proper
understanding of this animal’s
history. Others see dollar signs,
calculating how many grouper
sandwiches they could be making
should the moratorium be lifted.
Just as disturbing as those
interested it making a buck through
poaching are those who feel the need
to kill the fish for no other reason than
getting it out of the way. Such thinking
is based on the misconception that
it is the goliaths that are somehow
the cause for the declining numbers
of snapper, groupers and lobsters on
the reefs.
With the attention on goliaths
mounting, some Florida dive
operators like Jupiter Dive Center
owner Gerry Carroll see this as
a good thing. “From a business
standpoint, they’re worth more
to me alive than dead,” he says.
“Nothing says that better than
having a boat load of customers
coming back to the dock jazzed
about seeing these immense fish.”
2
A spawning aggregation assembles off Jupiter, FLorida at a site called the Hole-in-the-Wall.
By the end of August there will typically be between 35 and 45 hefty individuals gathering at
these spawning sites. Some aggregations have been recorded to last as long as two months. Talk
about a long honeymoon.
Interestingly, no one knows when, how often, or even what an actual spawning event looks
like, because nobody has yet been witness to such an occurrence. Unlike their smaller cousin the
Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), which spawn during the timeframe of a full moon, goliaths
don’t appear to follow a set pattern in regards to the moon.
www.underwaterjournal.com June/July 2007