The Great Goliath Grouper Count

THANK YOU. >> THE GOLIATH GROUPER IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SPECIES PATROLLING THE FLORIDA WATERS. ASIDE FROM CONTROLLING REEF FISH POPULATIONS. IT'S BELIEVED THE SPECIES GENERATES TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR JUST FOR SNORKELERS AND DIVERS TO GET A VIEW. MARINE EXPERTS SAY POPULATIONS OF THE GOLIATH GROUPER ARE SLOWLY REBOUNDING AFTER YEARS OF OVER HARVESTING THAT LED TO A COMPLETE HARVEST BAN BACK IN 1990, TO HELP MONITOR THE SPECIES AND RECOVERY EFFORTS. AN ANNUAL COUNT OF THE FISH IS SET TO BEGIN. >> THE GREAT GOLIATH GROUPER COUNT IS SET TO START ON JUNE. 1ST TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS ANNUAL EVENT IS DOCTOR ANGELA COLLINS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. >> WHO JOINS US NOW AND DR COLLINS. YOU ARE A MARINE FISHERY SPECIALIST AND ALSO AN EXPERT IN AQUA CULTURE. HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? >> I'M DOING GREAT. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. >> FIRST DESCRIBE THIS MASSIVE FISH. IT IS THE LARGEST MEMBER OF THIS SEA BASS FAMILY. I LEARNED. >> GOLIATH GROUPER ARE THE LARGEST IN THE COOPER FAMILY AND THE GULF AND SOUTH ATLANTIC. THIS IS A FISH THAT CAN GET UP TO 7 FEET IN TOTAL LENGTH AND WEIGH HUNDREDS OF POUNDS. SO THEY'RE QUITE MASSIVE. QUITE A FAVORITE OF THE DIVE INDUSTRY BECAUSE THEY ARE SO OBVIOUS AND HUGE UNDERWATER, VERY IMPRESSIVE FISH TO SEE WHEN YOU'RE SCUBA DIVING. >> NOW, WHAT IS THE GREAT GOLIATH GROUPER COUNT? AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE ONE? >> WELL, SO THE GOLIATH GROUPER COUNT ACTUALLY STARTED OVER 15 YEARS AGO. WE WANTED TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME OF OUR DIVERSE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THIS SPECIES. GOLIATH GROUPER HAVE BEEN PROTECTED FROM HARVEST SINCE 1990. SO THIS IS A SPECIES OF GROUP FOR THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY PROTECTED AND FEDERAL WATERS SINCE THE 90'S AND A LOT OF DIVERS SEE THEM UNDER WATER. THE POPULATION HAS STARTED TO RECOVER AFTER YEARS OF PROTECTION AND MORE AND MORE DIVERS WANT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION WHEN THEY DO SEE THESE FISH. SO THE GREAT GOLIATH GROUPER, COUNTLESS STARTED AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME OF OUR CITIZEN SCIENTISTS, DIVERS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION REGARDING THE FISH THAT THEY SEE REGULARY WHEN THEY'RE OUT THERE. DIVING ON THE REEFS THAT THEY DIVE ON, ESPECIALLY IN ON THE WEST FLORIDA SHELF IN THE GULF, ALTHOUGH IT HAS EXPANDED OVER THE YEARS. IT STARTED IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. BUT OVER THE YEARS IT HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE SITES IN THE PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA KEYS AND UP THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA. SO IT'S REALLY TURNED INTO QUITE THE STATEWIDE EVENT. >> AND THIS FISH WAS ALMOST TO THE POINT OF EXTINCTION BEFORE 1990, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? >> YEAH, THE FISH WAS. IT DEFINITELY SUFFERED OVERFISHING IN THE 80'S. THIS IS A SPECIES THAT AGGREGATES AT HIGH RELIEF. SO HABITAT WAS STRUCTURE THEY LOVE ARTIFICIAL REEFS. THEY LOVE HIGH REALLY STRUCTURE SO AND THEY'RE RELATIVELY CLOSE TO SHORE. MOST GOLIATH GROUPER AGGREGATIONS ARE OCCURRING INSIDE OF 200 FEET. SO THE FACT THAT THEY AGGREGATE AT THESE, YOU KNOW, EASY TO FIND HABITATS THAT THEY'RE SO LARGE AND VERY APPROACHABLE UNDER WATER. THEY'RE PRETTY EASY TO CATCH ALL OF THESE THINGS. MADE THEM QUITE VULNERABLE TO EXPLOITATION. AND ASSESSED WAS OVERFISHED IN THE 80'S. AND IN 1990, THEY RECOGNIZE THAT POPULATIONS HAVE DECLINED TO A POINT WHERE THEY NEEDED TO LIMIT HARVEST. AND SO IN 1990, THERE IS CLOSURE AND THAT THERE'S BEEN NO FISHING FOR THE LIFE. COOPER AND FEDERAL WATERS. SINCE THEN. AND A COUPLE YEARS AGO, THE STATE OF FLORIDA DID OPEN A LIMITED HARVEST, VERY LIMITED SMALL NUMBER OF GOLIATH AND STATE WATERS ARE ALLOWED TO BE FISH ANNUALLY NOW, BUT YOU NEED TO HAVE A PERMIT AND A TAG AND THAT STATE WATERS ONLY. >> AND YOU ARE CURRENTLY ASKING FOR CITIZEN SCIENTISTS TO OUR DIVERS TO HELP MAKE THIS RESEARCH POSSIBLE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT WOULD A VOLUNTEER NEED TO DO TO HELP IN THIS COUNT? AND WHERE WOULD THEY PARTICIPATE? >> SO THIS IS OPPORTUNITY THAT THE FLORIDA SEA GRANT ACTUALLY RUNS. AND IT THAT'S REALLY A OPPORTUNITY FOR DIVERS WHO ARE ALREADY OUT THERE DIVING ANYWAY. SO THERE'S A SHORT TRAINING PROTOCOL. THEY CAN DO IT ON YOUTUBE AND KIND OF LEARN AND ABOUT THE STANDARDIZED WAY THAT WE ASK FOR INFORMATION TO BE REPORTED. THEY'RE STANDARD DATA SHEETS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE. AND THIS IS FOR DIVERS WHO ARE ALREADY OUT ON THE WATER. WE DON'T ORGANIZE THE BOATS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THIS IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCED. DIVERS MAYBE DIED THE SAME SPOTS REGULARLY AND SEE GOLIATH GROUPER AND WOULD LIKE TO REPORT THAT INFORMATION. THIS PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE. THOSE FOLKS TOO, TAKE DATA AND PROVIDE IT ASKED WE COMPILE IT AND DO SORT OF A QUALITY CONTROL. AND THEN WE PROVIDE THE INFORMATION THAT'S COLLECTED DURING THE GREAT GLASS PAPER COUNT TO THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND THEY CAN UTILIZE THAT IN DIFFERENT POPULATION ASSESSMENTS. IT'S JUST ONE PIECE OF VERY ALL PIECE OF THE GIANT PUZZLE THAT GOES INTO MANAGING A SPECIES. BUT THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO COLLECT DATA FOR A FISH THAT A LOT OF FOLKS INTERACT WITH QUITE OFTEN. >> AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, THE COASTLINE HERE IS HOME TO A SIGNIFICANT POPULATION OF THESE PARTICULAR KINDS OF FISH, ESPECIALLY THE 10,000 ISLANDS. >> YEAH. SO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CENTER OF ABUNDANCE FOR GOLIATH GROUPER AND PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE EXTENSIVE NURSERY HABITAT THAT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA PROVIDES. WE'VE GOT THE 10,000 ISLANDS AREA. WE'VE GOT EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, ONE GOLIATH, GROUPER OF BABIES. THEY LOVE MANGROVE HABITAT. SO THEY GROW UP AMONG THOSE PROPER. IT SET THE MANGROVE HABITAT. YOU KNOW, THAT STRUCTURE, THOSE MANGROVES PROVIDE AND THEY'LL BASICALLY SETTLE IN THE ESTUARIES AND ARE THESE MANGROVE HABITATS IN THESE SPACES? THEY LOVE THOSE SHALLOW ENSURE ASHTRAYS WHEN THEY'RE LITTLE, THEY START OUT REALLY SMALL. AND THEN AS THEY GET BIGGER BASICALLY UNTIL THOSE BODIES CAN'T SIT UNDER THOSE MANGO OPERATES ANYMORE AS THEY GET LARGER TYPICALLY AROUND LIKE 2 AND A HALF TO 3 FEET IN TOTAL LENGTH. THEY DO START MOVING INTO DEEPER WATER AND HOW LARGE CAN THEY GROW? I I'VE HEARD 1000 POUNDS. IS THAT IS THAT TRUE? I MEAN, 1000 POUNDS MIGHT BE A LITTLE HIGH, BUT THEY CAN DEFINITELY BE OVER 70800 POUNDS FOR SURE. AND THEY CAN GET IT TO BE OVER 7 FEET AND TOTAL LINKS AND THEY CAN LIVE WELL INTO THEIR 50'S. THEY'RE VERY IMPRESSIVE TO SEE UNDER WATER PEOPLE SOMETIMES A QUAINT SEEING THE BIG ONES LIKE WAS LIKE A LITTLE WILT WAY GUN BUST DOWN THERE BECAUSE THEY DO GET SO HUGE. >> WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. DOCTOR COLLINS. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. >> HERE'S SOME MORE INFORMATION FROM THE WGCU NEWSROOM. ACCORDING TO THE JOURNAL ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH, GOLIATH, GROUPERS TYPICALLY PREY ON SLOW-MOVING FISH, INCLUDING STINGRAYS, CATFISH TOAD, FISHBURNE FISH AND COW FISH. THEY EVEN EAT SMALLER SHARKS LIKE BLACK TIP AND THEY'RE SHARKS IN ONE SINGLE GOAL. YOU CAN STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COVERAGE BY LOGGING ONTO WGCU DOT ORG.