Giant grouper
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Giant grouper ( Epinephelus itajara ) |
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| ( Lichtenstein , 1822) |
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The giant grouper ( Epinephelus itajara ), formerly also called "Jew fish", is a large predatory fish species of tropical seas belonging to the grouper family (Epinephelidae). The origin of the term "Judenfisch" is unclear. Its white and firm meat, which is of excellent quality, may meet the requirements of a kosher food. Since 2001, the American Fisheries Society has only used the common English name “Atlantic goliath grouper”. The name "Irajara" comes from an indigenous language of Brazil and means something like " Lord of the Rock ".
description
The fish is stout and has a broad and cylindrical shape. Its coloration is adapted to the natural environment and ranges from brown-yellow, gray to green. The giant grouper also reaches a stately size. The fish can be up to 2.50 meters long and up to 360, in exceptional cases up to 450 kilograms, and can live to be 37 years old. In 1961 a specimen weighing 308.44 kg was caught near Fernandina, Florida . When they reach spawning maturity, adult animals weigh around 180 kilograms.
distribution
Giant groupers prefer the shallow coastal waters of tropical coral reefs. Similar to giant dark groupers ( Epinephelus lanceolatus ), they prefer to live near wrecks, rocky outcrops or coastal fortifications at depths of five to 50 meters. Epinephelus itajara is distributed from the Florida Keys , the Bahamas , the Caribbean to Brazilian coastal waters. It is less commonly caught off New England , Maine or Massachusetts . On the African side you can find it from the Congo to Senegal . Young fish can be found in the brackish water of floodplain forests and mangroves, in coastal channels or over mussel beds.
behavior
Epinephelus itajara belongs to the protogynous hermaphrodites . At the beginning of their development, all fish are Rogner . The male gender only emerges at a certain stage of life. Milchner become sexually mature from a length of approx. 113 centimeters and Rogner from 125.
Giant groupers eat crustaceans , octopus , sea turtles , sharks and barracudas . Due to their size, they are unable to track prey fish from a long distance and therefore attack from an ambush. Fish are sucked up in their big mouth. Attacks on scuba divers and on larger lemon sharks have been observed several times. Possible causes can be territorial defense or feed envy. Giant groupers are able to use their swim bladders to produce low-frequency sounds. The well-known recreational diver Hans Hass reports in his book “Unter Korallen und Haien” about an encounter with an extremely large giant grouper, which he hunted with a harpoon.
At spawning time, adults form larger groups and start migrating to their spawning grounds, which can always be found in the same region. In southern Brazil, fish ripe for spawning come together during the full moon phases in December and look for their spawning grounds together. The spawning season lasts until February.
The annual gatherings of giant groupers have made it even easier for professional fishermen to locate and catch them. By the time a ban on fishing was issued during spawning season, the population had already declined significantly. For a while, the giant grouper was one of the critically endangered fish species. Therefore, a fishing ban was issued in the USA in 1990 and in the Caribbean in 1993 . Due to the long reproductive cycle of this species of fish, it took a long time for the stocks to recover. In May 2015 it was possible for the first time to keep giant groupers in captivity and bring them to reproduction. The gill parasite Pseudorhabdosynochus americanus is one of its most important parasites .
Economical meaning
The giant grouper is a popular edible and sport fish that was often harpooned in the past. It is easy prey for spear fishermen because it displays fearless behavior, tries to assert its territory and mostly does not hide due to its imposing size. Its meat has a high market value.
literature
- Ewald Lieske, Robert F. Myers: Coral fish of the world . 1994, year publisher, ISBN 3-86132-112-2
Web links
- Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822) Atlantic Goliath Grouper. Fishbase
- Epinephelus itajara (Atlantic Goliath Grouper, Goliath Grouper, Jewfish). IUCN Red List
- Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822). World Register of Marine Species
Notes and individual references
- ↑ Judenfisch ( Epinephelus itajara ) fish lexicon
- ↑ Nomen est omen on www.mare.de ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Goliath grouper. Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ↑ Yvonne Sadovy de Mitcheson and Patrick L. Colin: Reef Fish Spawning Aggregation: Biology, Research and Management. Springer Verlag, 2011, pp. 417f, ISBN 978-94-007-1979-8 .
- ↑ Atlantic goliath grouper ( Epinephelus itajara ) on www.arkive.org ( Memento of the original of July 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ IGFA world record
- ↑ 10 Giant World-Record Groupers
- ↑ The Atlantic goliath grouper ( Epinephelus itajara ) is a territorial fish, and many of the attacks may simply be defense of its territory. Attack of the Goliath Grouper at www.jonesboro.com
- ↑ Epinephelus itajara (Atlantic Goliath Grouper)
- ↑ Hans Hass: Among corals and sharks. Adventure in the Caribbean Sea. Deutscher Verlag, Berlin, 1942, Fischer-Taschenbuch, Frankfurt, 1982
- Jump up ↑ Leopoldo Cavaleri Gerhardinger, Rosemeri Carvalho Marenzi, Áthila Andrade Bertoncini, Rodrigo Pereira Medeiros and Maurício Hostim-Silva: Local ecological knowledge on the goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara (Teleostei: Serranidae) in Southern Brazil. Neotrope. Ichthyol. Vol.4 No.4. Porto Alegre , October / December 2006.
- ↑ LS Bueno, AA Bertoncini, CC Koenig, FC Coleman, MO Freitas, JR Leite, TF De Souza, M. Hostim-Silva: Evidence for spawning aggregations of the endangered Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara in southern Brazil. In: Journal of fish biology. Volume 89, Number 1, July 2016, pp. 876-889, doi : 10.1111 / jfb.13028 , PMID 27264779 .
