Abstract

In March 2006, NOAA Fisheries removed goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) from its list of species of concern. It cited a recent status report (NMFS, 2006) that showed a significant increase in the abundance of the U.S. population and suggested that goliath grouper are re-establishing themselves throughout their historic range. However, under the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation Act, the goliath grouper remains “overfished”, and harvest is still illegal. A previous examination of juvenile goliath grouper suggested that strong year-classes occurred in the Ten-Thousand Islands region of Everglades National Park (ENP) in the late 1990s. Current information from ENP indicates that strong year classes continue to occur, and that the range of goliath grouper is expanding. This information is useful for managers and stock assessment biologists tasked to monitor the recovery of goliath grouper and to determine acceptable harvest levels for scientific research.

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