Abstract

This is the first study to investigate the settlement ecology, behavior, age and habitat of early juvenile goliath grouper, a protected species in U.S. waters. Beginning in October 2001, researchers serendipitously captured post-settlement goliath grouper in the Ten Thousand Islands of southwest Florida, primarily using standard blue crab traps. This study describes and illustrates their morphology, habitat, and the unconventional methods of capture utilized. Daily age in days was obtained from counting otolith increments and can be used to back-calculate date of spawning and potentially, settlement; providing insight into the reproduction and early life history of this protected species.

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