Grouper

More about Black grouper

The black grouper can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length. It is usually solitary and skittish until spawning time, when it gathers en masse. It is found in tropical or subtropical waters of the central western Atlantic.

Commercial Sources

Black grouper are found in the western Atlantic, from Massachusetts and Bermuda to Brazil, including the southern Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Capture Methods

Black grouper come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with hooks-and-lines. Additional types of fishing gear include spears, pots and traps.

More about Red grouper

The Red grouper, as the name implies, has a reddish-brown body that shades to pink or red along its belly. Usually solitary until spawning time, it grows to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length and resides along rocky or muddy bottoms in warm waters. This fish may carry red-tide toxin. Adults are overfished and huge numbers of juveniles are killed routinely by shrimp trawlers.

Commercial Sources

Red grouper are found in the western Atlantic, from North Carolina to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

The main sources of red grouper are Brazil and Cuba.

Capture Methods

Red grouper come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with hooks-and-lines. Additional types of fishing gear include pots and traps, cast nets, spears and trawls.

MORE ABOUT GAG GROUPER

Gag is caught in the Gulf of Mexico primarily with handlines. It is an "ok" choice because of low abundance due to past overexploitation, but is rebuilding. Gag, like other groupers, are a long-lived, slow-growing, predator species that changes sex from female to male as they age, all characteristics that make gag highly vulnerable to fishing pressure.

No additional information

MORE ABOUT SNOWY GROUPER

Snowy grouper caught in the United States is considered a "worst" choice because this deep-water grouper is at low abundances (or near low abundances) and fisheries for this species have high bycatch of overfished species. Snowy grouper is a long-lived, slow-growing, predator species that changes sex from female to male as they age, all characteristics that make this grouper highly vulnerable to fishing pressure.

MORE ABOUT WARSAW GROUPER

Warsaw grouper is a deep-water grouper at low abundances and listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Fisheries for this species have high bycatch of overfished species. Warsaw grouper is a long-lived, slow-growing, predator species that changes sex from female to male as they age, all characteristics that make this grouper highly vulnerable to fishing pressure. Warsaw groupers are one of the largest and longest lived of the groupers, reaching over 7 ½ feet in length and living up to 41 years.

MORE ABOUT YELLOWEDGE GROUPER

Yellowedge grouper caught in the United States is considered a “worst” choice because this deep-water grouper is at low abundances (or near low abundances) and fisheries for these species have high bycatch of overfished species. Yellowedge grouper is a long-lived, slow-growing, predator species that changes sex from female to male as they age, all characteristics that make this grouper highly vulnerable to fishing pressure.