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Illustration of Olive grouper
fishing forecast

olive grouper

Hyporthodus cifuentesi · full profile

location

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period

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the species

everything about the olive grouper

how to recognize it

Head and body pale brown, with a greenish sheen on the body. The lips, the tip of the lower jaw and the upper part of the body are darker. The fins are brown, darker than the body, with a blue-green reflection, and the pelvic fins are pale brown. Juveniles have no markings, only a dark groove on the maxilla. Compare it with the starry grouper (Hyporthodus niphobles), whose adults are dark brown.

Also called: garoupa-oliva, garoupa, gallina, olive grouper

We don't have tips on season, bait or technique for this species yet.

Where to look: Deep rocky reefs, 40 to 120 m.

Lives in the eastern Pacific, at the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), Cocos Island and the coast of Costa Rica. It is also recorded from Panama and probably from Mexico.

rules for the olive grouper

Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.

We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.

how much it weighs without taking it out of the water

estimated weight

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how we calculate

Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01096, b = 3.04; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.

more about the olive grouper

The olive grouper is a fish of the family Epinephelidae. It reaches 100 cm and 22.3 kg. It lives on deep rocky reefs of the eastern Pacific, 40 to 120 m deep, at the Galápagos Islands, Cocos Island and the coast of Costa Rica, and probably also in Mexico. It is heavily fished commercially and sold fresh in markets. In sport fishing it is considered a line fish. The body is pale brown with a greenish sheen, and juveniles have few markings, only a dark groove on the maxilla.

Family: Epinephelidae · predator

in the kitchen

It is sold fresh in markets.

similar species

sources and references (2)

Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.

  1. scientific FishBase: Hyporthodus cifuentesi (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
  2. scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Hyporthodus cifuentesiNames by country and language.