Epinephelus aeneus, White grouper : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish
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Epinephelus aeneus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817)

White grouper
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Epinephelus aeneus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Epinephelus aeneus (White grouper)
Epinephelus aeneus
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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; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 20 - 200 m (Ref. 3589). Subtropical; 39°N - 16°S, 17°W - 60°E (Ref. 54435)

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

Eastern Atlantic: along the west coast of Africa to southern Angola (Ref. 5222, 57293), including the southern Mediterranean (Ref. 5222). First record from Corsica, France in 2012 (Ref. 95840). Records from the Canary Islands and Cape Verde are unsubstantiated (Ref. 5222).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 55.0, range 50 - 60 cm
Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5222); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999); max. published weight: 25.0 kg (Ref. 5222)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 10 - 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-16; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9. Diagnosis: depth of body less than head length, depth 3.0-3.6 times in SL; head length 2.5-2.9 times in SL; interorbital area convex; preopercle angular, 3.6- large spines at the angle, lowermost directed ventrally; posterior nostril slightly bigger than anterior nostril; maxilla reaches nearly to vertical at rear edge of eye; pelvic fin origin below base of pectoral fins; rounded caudal fin; body scales ctenoid (Ref. 89707).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults are found on rocky or mud-sand bottom; juveniles have been taken in coastal lagoons and estuaries (Ref. 5222, 57293). In the west African waters, diet comprise of fishes (58%), stomatopods (21%), crabs (10%), and cephalopods (10%). It is a protogynous hermaphrodite. The seasonal migration of the species off the coast of Senegal is influenced by the seasonal upwelling off Senegal and Mauritania. Utilized fresh and smoked (Ref. 9987). Highly esteemed in the market of West Africa (Ref. 5377).

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

Most females change sex at about 9 kg, but smaller males (of 3 to 5 kg) are occasionally found. Total potential fecundity was estimated to range from 789,436 ova in a 44 cm SL fish of 2.2 kg to 12,589,242 ova in a 87 cm SL fish of 12.6 kg. In Tunisia, sex change occurs at 10 to 13 years (6 to 15 kg, 80 to 110 cm TL).

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)

  Near Threatened (NT) (A2bd); Date assessed: 18 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: experimental; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

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Fecundity
Eggs
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Otoliths
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | 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): 14.8 - 20.2, mean 17.1 °C (based on 122 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01175 (0.01032 - 0.01338), b=3.04 (3.02 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.59 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.15-0.25; tm=5-7; tmax=17; Fec>1 million).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (58 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (45 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 32.2 [14.1, 76.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.752 [0.370, 1.712] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [17.1, 20.5] %; Omega3 = 0.324 [0.182, 0.593] g/100g; Selenium = 37.3 [17.2, 85.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 17.6 [4.1, 75.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.761 [0.487, 1.222] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.