At certain times of the year, it can be even more of a treat to dive in the warm and inviting waters off the coast of South Florida. The Castor wreck is a very popular dive spot in 110 feet of water directly out from Boynton Beach and you may see the mammoth Goliath Groupers guarding the ship as if it was their own. Although their size can sometimes be intimidating, they are calm creatures with a curious demeanor as divers seek to capture each movement that they make on video.
As their name states, they are part of the grouper family, also referred to as the jewfish. They are mostly found in the tropical waters of the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Brazilian coast and the Azores. These marine creatures prefer to stay close to caves, rocky ledges and shipwrecks.
There are an abundance of interesting facts about the Goliath Groupers that many may not be aware of. These fish are the largest grouper in the Atlantic Ocean. Their diet consists mostly of crabs, however, they can open and close their mouths so quickly that the change in water pressure gives them the ability to suck in a meal in a matter of moments ranging from stingrays, toadfish, parrotfish and octopuses to young sea turtles and catfish. Jupiter, Florida is the only documented spawning site on the United States east coast. From July through September, it is not unusual to see plentiful groups of these gargantuan groupers gathering to reproduce, sometimes as many as 100 spawning in a particular area at one time. One of their most favorite habitats in the underwater world is Warrior Reef, an artificial reefs made up of 300 tons of concrete from the old Jupiter High School building in Jupiter. They also tend to migrate towards popular shipwrecks such as the Mexican Pride and the Gunsmoke which are located in Tampa Bay.
The large groupers mature at a slower rate but have an extremely long life span, some living 37 to 40 years.
The colossal size of the Goliath Grouper makes it frightening to anyone not familiar with this species. Some can be as capacious as 8 feet long with a weight close to 600 pounds. If you use your imagination, it almost always looks like they are giving you a smile or a frown with such a pronounced and visible mouth and facial expression. Goliath Groupers have been known to make a loud, booming, barking sound that reverberates for miles and miles on the sea floor.
There is much to learn about these giants of the sea but one of the most crucial points to get across to the public is that we must all keep the Goliath Groupers protected. They have come to be a prohibited species, which in turn, means that they receive greater protection to ensure their continued well-being. You cannot take them on land because their large skeletal structure will not be able to support their weight out of the water without some type of damage. Since making these fish a prohibited species, the number of Goliath Groupers in Florida waters has increased. Twenty years ago, their population was going in the other direction, mostly due to fishermen eager to get a good catch and eager to bring up the largest fish. Now, the outlook is much brighter as long as we work together to continue to protect the grouper. It is always magical to be able to get a photo with Goliath Groupers in the background but it is best to admire these sea creatures from afar. If we all work together to protect, positive results can be achieved and Goliath Groupers will continue to spawn for decades to come.
