Cephalopholis fulva · Epinephelidae · predator
A reef grouper (garoupinha) covered with blue spots, common on the rocky shores and corals of the Northeast. It changes color, lives in harems and takes small natural bait.
Also called: jabu, piraúna, catuá, garoupinha, garoupa-pintada-da-bahia, coney
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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.
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
The jabu is a small grouper of the western Atlantic, from South Carolina and Bermuda to southern Brazil. It lives on coral reefs and rocky shores of clear water, usually down to 40 m, and spends the day in holes and under ledges. It eats small fish and crustaceans, and sometimes follows morays to catch the prey they flush out. It is born female and turns male at about 20 cm; each male defends a territory with several females and spawns with them at sunset. On the central coast of Brazil it reaches 43 cm and 24 years of age. It is common in rocky-shore and boat fishing with small natural bait.
Body red, orange or brownish, sometimes bright yellow or two-tone, covered in blue dots with black edges. Two black spots at the top of the tail peduncle and two at the tip of the chin. Tail with a rounded edge and angled tips. The rock hind (garoupa-gato) has red spots on a pale background; the true grouper (garoupa-verdadeira) and the badejo-mira are much larger and lack blue dots.
In Brazil, from the Northeast to the South, common on reefs and rocky shores of the Northeast and Bahia.
Habitat: Coral reefs and rocky shores of clear water, with holes, ledges and crevices.
coast
states
Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina
Fished year-round on the Northeast reefs.
Dawn and dusk. Most active at dawn and dusk; by day it usually stays in its hole.
A tropical reef fish; cold water reduces its activity.
A churned sea after a cold front makes the rocky shore difficult.
Small effect.
Minor; a storm on the rocky shore is a danger.
Surf muddies the reef water for days.
Wary: footsteps on the rocks and a motor in the shallows make it hide in its hole.
A strong sea wind makes the rocky coast dangerous.
Moving tide brings food to the mouth of the hole.
From the shallows down to about 40 m for most catches.
lures
natural baits
accessories
A small bait right at the mouth of the hole: the jabu bites and goes back in, so hold firm on the first pull.
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: Not on the national list (Portaria GM/MMA 1.667/2026). We found no specific federal rule for this species.
In Mexico, catching all grouper species, a group in which the official standard includes the jabu (cherna cabrilla), 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.
In federal waters around Puerto Rico, beyond 9 miles from the coast, the recreational angler may keep a maximum of 5 fish per day from groupers, snappers and parrotfish combined (up to 15 per boat when there are 3 or more people aboard). The limit does not apply to anyone with a commercial license from Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A shallow hole-dwelling fish: remove the hook quickly and release it near the rock. If it came from deeper than 20 m, use a descender.
White, delicate flesh, good fried or in moqueca. Ciguatera has been recorded in the Caribbean.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01175, b = 3.04; 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.
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations:
Your location is saved only on this device and feeds the forecast, the map and the "today" on the home page.
