Epinephelus itajara, Atlantic goliath grouper : fisheries, gamefish

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Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822)

Atlantic goliath grouper
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Epinephelus itajara   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Epinephelus itajara (Atlantic goliath grouper)
Epinephelus itajara
Picture by Bertoncini, A.A.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Epinephelus: Greek, epinephelos = cloudy (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 100 m (Ref. 9710), usually ? - 46 m (Ref. 55295). Subtropical; 36°N - 33°S, 121°W - 12°E (Ref. 55295)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Florida, USA to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Congo (reported as Epinephelus esonue, Ref. 2739, 6809); rare in Canary Islands (Ref. 6808). Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California to Peru) species refers to Epinephelus quinquefasciatus. Discrete populations of E. itajara exist in the western Atlantic (Ref. 89627).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 128.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 250 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26550); common length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 455.0 kg (Ref. 4841); max. reported age: 37 years (Ref. 4841)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-16; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. Distinguished by the following characteristics: brownish yellow, grey or greenish body color; head and dorsal part of body and fins with small black spots; body robust and elongate; body depth contained 2.7-3.4 times in SL; HL 2.3-2.9 in SL; extremely broad head; flat interorbital; rounded preopercle, finely serrate; round nostrils, subequal; maxilla scaly, reaching well past eye; 3-5 rows of subequal teeth on midlateral part of lower jaw; absence of canines at front jaw (Ref. 89707); further characterized by having opercle with 3 flat spines, middle one the largest. Pelvic fins smaller than the pectorals. Bases of soft dorsal and anal fins covered with scales and thick skin. Juveniles tawny with irregular vertical bands.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A solitary species (Ref. 26340) occurring in shallow, inshore areas. Found on rock, coral, or mud bottoms (Ref. 5217). Juveniles found in mangrove areas and brackish estuaries (Ref. 5217). Large adults may be found in estuaries (Ref. 5217). Adults appear to occupy limited home ranges with little inter-reef movement. Feeds primarily on crustaceans, particularly spiny lobsters as well as turtles and fishes, including stingrays. Territorial near its refuge cave or wreck where it may show a threat display with open mouth and quivering body. Larger individuals have been known to stalk and attacks divers. Over-fished, primarily by spear fishing (Ref. 9710). Marketed fresh and salted. Meat is of excellent quality. Important game fish (Ref. 9342). Reported to reach weights of more than 315 kg (Ref. 26938).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p. (Ref. 5222)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bcd); Date assessed: 20 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 4716)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | OsteoBase: skull, spine | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 22.8 - 28, mean 26.3 °C (based on 532 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01096 (0.00641 - 0.01876), b=3.03 (2.89 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 8.7 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.13; tm=5.5-6.5).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (70 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 7.75 [2.67, 16.99] mg/100g; Iron = 0.365 [0.171, 0.783] mg/100g; Protein = 19.9 [18.3, 21.5] %; Omega3 = 0.169 [0.084, 0.334] g/100g; Selenium = 25.9 [11.7, 60.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 40.7 [8.5, 195.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.626 [0.390, 0.977] mg/100g (wet weight);