Epinephelus itajara
The largest grouper in the Atlantic, over 2 m long. Critically Endangered: fishing banned since 2002.
Also called: mero, canapu (jovem, Nordeste), mero-gigante
The goliath grouper is the largest reef fish in the Atlantic: over 2 m and 300 kg. It lives around wrecks, pilings, rocky shores and offshore reefs, and juveniles grow up in mangroves and estuaries, from Amapá to Santa Catarina. Slow, curious and very faithful to its territory, it is easy prey for longline, net and harpoon, which drove the population to collapse. It was Brazil's first marine fish to get a fishing moratorium, in 2002, and today it is Critically Endangered: fishing, transporting, storing or selling it is an offense and an environmental crime. It gathers to spawn in summer at wrecks and rocky outcrops. It is worth more alive: diving with groupers drives tourism at several points along the coast.
Goliath grouper: long, very thick body, broad flat head, tiny eyes and a huge mouth. Yellowish brown to olive, with small black spots on the head and fins and slanting dark blotches on the body, clearer in juveniles. Rounded fins; dorsal spines lower than the soft part. Difference from the dusky grouper (garoupa) and the black grouper (badejo): much larger size, wider head and small black spots.
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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.
From Amapá to Santa Catarina. Juveniles in mangroves and estuaries (especially the coast of Pará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Babitonga, SC); adults at wrecks, offshore reefs and pilings.
Habitat: Wrecks, pier and platform pilings, rocky shores and offshore reefs; juveniles in mangroves and estuaries.
coast
states
Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina
Spawning aggregations in summer, at wrecks and rocky areas. Biological note: catching it is banned all year round.
Dawn and dusk. Most active at dawn, at dusk and at night; during the day it stays still on the structure.
Very sensitive to cold: cold snaps have already killed groupers in shallow waters.
Not very relevant.
Spawning aggregations seem to be linked to the moon.
Not very relevant.
Juveniles in the estuary tolerate low-salinity water.
Curious, it approaches divers, which makes it vulnerable.
Not very relevant.
Juveniles in mangroves follow the flood tide into the mangrove creeks and return to the pools on the ebb. Adults at wrecks stay in the shelter of the current.
Juveniles from 1 to 5 m; adults from 5 to 50 m.
accessories
If a goliath grouper is hooked by accident, don't lift it out of the water: remove the hook with pliers if you can reach it, or cut the line close to the mouth. Record it and notify the environmental agency if it is injured.
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: Fishing for it is prohibited across Brazil.
The goliath grouper is Critically Endangered (CR). Catching, transporting, storing, processing and selling it are banned throughout Brazil. A fish hooked by chance must be released alive on the spot.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026 (list, CR) and Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3º)
Catching goliath grouper was banned in 2002 (Portaria Ibama 121/2002), with successive extensions (2007 and 2012), the last by Portaria Interministerial MPA/MMA nº 13/2015, valid until 2023. No new specific extension has been found: since then, protection has come from the national list of threatened species.
Source: Portaria Interministerial MPA/MMA nº 13/2015; Portaria Ibama nº 121/2002
Epinephelus itajara is Critically Endangered (CR). Catching, transport, storage and sale are prohibited, with no end date. Protection began with moratoria in 2002 (Portaria IBAMA 121/2002, renewed later). It now stems from the national threatened species list. Incidental catch: release alive, with care (goliath grouper suffers from decompression).
This is not catch and release: it is release of accidental catch. Keep the fish in the water, without hoisting it, and no photos out of the water.
Catch and trade banned. Don't buy it.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.0233493, b = 3.04; FishBase (estimativa bayesiana, comprimento total); coeficiente a ajustado ao porte máximo registrado). 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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