Epinephelus striatus
The Nassau grouper is Critically Endangered worldwide. It is prohibited in Puerto Rico and has closed seasons and size limits in Belize, the Bahamas and Mexico: learn to recognize it so you can release it.
Also called: garoupa-de-nassau, garoupa-de-trindade, Nassau grouper
The Nassau grouper is the best-known grouper in the Caribbean and was once the most important species in the commercial fishery of the Antilles. It lives on coral and rock reefs, from the shoreline to about 90 m, almost always near hiding places; juveniles stay in seagrass beds. It eats fish and crabs. On a few winter nights of the Northern Hemisphere, tied to the moon, it travels to fixed spawning sites, where up to 30,000 fish have gathered. Fishing on these aggregations collapsed populations, and many disappeared. The IUCN rates it Critically Endangered, the US prohibits all catch, including in Puerto Rico, and several Caribbean countries close fishing during spawning. In Brazil its presence is not confirmed. If you hook one, release it quickly and carefully.
Background color beige to gray, with five dark vertical bars; the third and fourth branch and form a W on the flank. A large black saddle mark at the top of the tail peduncle, black spots below and behind the eye, and a dark tuning-fork-shaped band on top of the head. It changes color within minutes. The rock hind (garoupa-gato) has red spots; the red grouper (garoupa-são-tomé) is reddish and lacks the saddle on the peduncle.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Bermuda, Florida, the Bahamas, the Yucatán Peninsula and the whole Caribbean; in the Gulf of Mexico, only on the Campeche Bank, the Dry Tortugas and Key West. FishBase lists Brazil based on the FAO catalog, but we found no confirmed recent record or national ICMBio assessment: treat the species as absent or extremely rare on the Brazilian coast.
Habitat: Coral and rock reefs with hiding places, from the shore to about 90 m; juveniles in seagrass beds.
Not a fish to target. Caribbean closed seasons cover the spawning period, from December to March depending on the country.
Daytime. Mainly active by day, near its hiding places.
A tropical reef fish; cold water reduces its activity.
Little direct effect.
Spawning aggregations occur on moon-linked nights in the Northern Hemisphere winter; this is the most protected period.
Little effect.
Not applicable at sea.
It is the least wary of the groupers, which left it exposed to fishing.
No significant effect on release.
Little studied.
From the shore to about 90 m.
accessories
Fishing on a Caribbean reef: if you hook a Nassau grouper, don't keep it on board. Remove the hook with the fish in the water, or release it with a descender.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Critically Endangered (CR) in the global assessment. In the US, including Puerto Rico, it is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and all catch is prohibited. We found no confirmed record or national assessment in Brazil.
In Puerto Rico it is prohibited to fish for, possess, sell or offer for sale the Nassau grouper (cherna criolla), which must go back to the sea, alive or dead. In federal waters around the island, beyond 9 miles, fishing and possession are also prohibited, and a hooked fish must be released immediately with minimal harm.
In Belize, Nassau grouper may not be fished from December 1 to March 31.
Source: Belize Fisheries Department — fishing regulations (Nassau grouper)
Outside the closed season, no one may catch, buy, sell or possess Nassau grouper under 20 inches (50.8 cm) total length.
Source: Belize Fisheries Department — fishing regulations (Nassau grouper)
Nassau grouper over 30 inches (76.2 cm) total length may not be kept either: these are the large breeders.
Source: Belize Fisheries Department — fishing regulations (Nassau grouper)
In the Bahamas, from December 1 to February 28, no one may catch, land, process, sell or offer for sale Nassau grouper, except with written authorization for research. Groupers landed during the period must have their head, tail and skin intact. The closed season was set in law in 2015. The text of the regulation was not checked: the rules come from official notices and news reports. Confirm with the Department of Marine Resources.
In Mexico, catching all grouper species, a group in which the official standard includes the Nassau grouper (cherna criolla), is prohibited from February 1 to March 31 in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean off Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, up to the Belize border. Bottom longlines are also prohibited during the period.
If you hook one, keep the fish in the water, remove the hook with pliers and release it. If it came up from depth with barotrauma, use a descender. No long photos out of the water.
It should not be eaten: catch is prohibited or limited over much of its range.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01148, b = 3.05; FishBase (estimativa bayesiana, comprimento total)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
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