Off the coast of Florida, artificial reefs made from old ships past their prime offer divers unlimited fun all year round. Now, scientists have discovered that these reefs are acting as a spawning ground for Goliath Groupers - huge fish that are struggling to survive in some places. Here, we'll take a look at how Florida's artificial reefs are helping Goliath Groupers make a comeback.
Diving With Goliaths
Huge Goliath groupers sometimes seem to play hide and seek with divers. Get too close, and they'll back up into a wreck, out of sight. Hang motionless in the water and wait, and they'll come closer to see what you're up to, sometimes opening their mouths wide to give you a view deep into their throats. Encroach on territory the massive brown mottled fish have claimed as their own, and you might hear a deep thrumming sound as the fish send a warning by vibrating the muscles attached to their swim bladders.
The best time to experience the Florida Goliath Grouper spawn is between July and mid-October, with peak activity occurring in August. At wrecks like the Miss Jenny, the Zion, and the Bonaire, located between Boynton Beach and Stuart, hundreds of groupers occupy the artificial reefs in what locals describe as a near-miraculous comeback.
Divers from all over the world come to see the groupers, as this is a unique aggregation of the huge fish, which have been nearly wiped out by overfishing that peaked during the 1980's. In 1990, the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Goliath Grouper fishery was shut down, and now, the fish are making a solid comeback.
While some anglers are calling for the fishery to reopen, NOAA and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say it's too soon. Stock will be reassessed periodically, but for now, the focus needs to remain on allowing the groupers to make a solid comeback. In addition, researchers are using this time to learn more about what makes Goliath Groupers tick. They've caught, tagged, sampled, and released hundreds of the fish off the coast of Jupiter over the past few years, using heavy lines and non-damaging circle hooks to quickly catch the Goliaths that swarm the wrecks.
Carefully pumping salt water through each fish's gills, they collect a bit of genetic material, pump the stomach to see what's being eaten, and implant the fish with streamer and acoustic tags for later identification. Then, no harm done, they put the fish back into the water.
Over the years, these scientists have learned a lot about Goliath Groupers. First, the fish are hermaphroditic, capable of harboring both sperm and eggs. Second, they don't start to spawn until they are about four feet long - so allowing the population to make a huge comeback is necessary to species survival. They can live to be about sixty years old, given the proper conditions.
Nowhere else in the world can you see Goliath Groupers aggregate in such huge numbers. Thanks to the shelter artificial reefs provide, the fish have started to recover - and in the process, they've given us divers the opportunity to get to know them better. So, visit Florida's wrecks some summer. You'll be amazed at what you find, in more ways than one.