I’m Sam and I’m in search of a giant fish that’s as tall as a Christmas tree and weighs more than a large vending machine. It has a broad head, small eyes and an enormous mouth that it uses like a vacuum to suck in its prey in one big gulp. Now that’s a fish I’ve got to see. Let’s dive in and learn all about the goliath grouper!
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SAM:The ocean thrives on the diversity of its species. Sometimes those at the top of the food chain get a bad rap. Today, I’m in the beautiful coastal waters the Florida Keys at Elbow Reef, looking for a giant-sized predator– the Atlantic Goliath Grouper. This goliath plays a very important role keeping its marine habitat healthy. But its population is declining. We are going on a dive with Laura “Jay” Grove– a research fishery biologist– and John Katchenago, who helps ensure the safety for divers here in the Florida Keys. Fingers crossed we find one! Let’s go!
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This amazing coral reef is filled with all kinds of wildlife. Like this cute little green sea turtle munching on sea grass. Unlike land turtles, sea turtles have flippers instead of feet. And these paddle-like flippers make them super-speedy swimmers! Sea turtles travel long distances and dive deep in the ocean to eat, but need to surface to breathe. Juveniles hide in the vegetation from ambush predators like sharks, grouper, and barracuda that are always on the lookout for food. Here comes one now. A huge silver colored barracuda with razor-sharp teeth. This torpedo-shaped fish can grow as large as six feet long and weigh up to 103 pounds.
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Barracudas live near coral reefs and shallow waters, hoping to surprise their prey with a sneak attack, a tactic used by the goliath grouper, too. The grouper should be pretty easy to spot, but we haven’t seen one yet. We’ve searched the more shallow, artificial and natural reefs, which are their favorite hiding places, but no luck! We’re going on another dive later today, so maybe we’ll find one then. Let’s head up to talk with Jay and John about the other species we saw. So what were some of the creatures that we saw down there, Jay? We saw tons of creatures on this dive. There were a lot of different things going on down there, and I think one of the things that the coolest is, is that you don’t have to be a fish expert to understand what a fish does down there or what kind of style it has. So you saw the barracuda, right? -Yes. -The huge one. both: Huge barracuda.
JAY: We saw parrotfish. SAM: Tons of parrotfish.
JAY: All different colors, shapes, sizes. We saw some terminal phase parrotfish, so parrotfish are pretty unique. They change colors throughout their life. They have different phases, so even though there are tons of different colors down there, we primarily saw about three species. That’s super neat.
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SAM: It’s time to head back to the dock to get ready for my second dive. But I still have lots of questions! I didn’t get to talk to you about the goliath grouper. Yes, the goliath grouper, the biggest grouper in the Atlantic. It’s awesome. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see one, though. So what do groupers look like? Goliath groupers.
JAY:Groupers are kind of a funny looking fish. They are– you don’t see their scales like you see in some other fish. They look smooth to the touch. they have very soft, rounded fins, and are known for having a grumpy, frowny face with just big lips and a big mouth.
SAM: And the eyes are kinda small, right?
JAY: The eyes are really small. How big do goliath groupers get? Goliath groupers are awesome. They get huge.
JAY: They get over eight feet about over 800 pounds.
I’ve heard people say 1,000 pounds.
SAM: Wow.
JAY: They’re a gigantic fish. Where do they typically like to hang out? Goliath grouper hang out in a bunch of different areas. You can find the adults on natural reefs, so on the coral reef habitat. In some areas they’re found on larger artificial reefs, And the juveniles are found in the mangroves. A lot of species have that life strategy where they have their young in an area that’s not on the coral reefs with all the larger predators. In the mangroves, they’re able to hide behind the roots so that they don’t have to escape predation as easily, and then when they get larger and there’s not enough food for them anymore, then they make their way back out into the reef where there’s more opportunity.
SAM: Adult goliath grouper feed on crustaceans like lobsters, shrimp, crabs, fish, and even young sea turtles. They’re considered to be an ambush predator, which means that they’re– the body type has a little bit of cryptic coloration and they’ll shut their mouth and essentially create this negative pressure and this ability that when they open up their mouth, the water comes shooting in and they ambush that prey. And that prey, before they know anything happens they’re already in the goliath grouper’s stomach.
SAM: Aww. -It is kinda sad. -That is sad. -But they’re very successful. -Yeah.
SAM:hopefully we’ll be successful in finding the goliath grouper in this next dive. Here we go! It’s so beautiful down here! These coral formations are so vibrant. I know they look like plants, but they are actually animals! Swimming around the reef are stingrays, schools of fish, parrotfish, and barracuda. It’s a beautiful sight. We’re looking in the crevices and ledges of the reef and in the vegetation for the goliath grouper. But still no sign. We may not have found the grouper, but that’s why I love scuba diving. You never know what you’re going to find!
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The goliath grouper is an impressive fish. It’s considered an umbrella species because its survival ensures the survival of other species that share its habitat. Today was a lot of fun! We saw a lot of amazing creatures, like a green sea turtle, parrotfish who change colors throughout their life, and barracudas. Barracudas and goliath groupers are ambush predators that surprise their prey and swallow them whole.
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Goliath grouper’s pretty awesome! Let’s protect these critically endangered species for the greater good of all species by not overfishing or destroying their habitat. Thanks for joining me on this adventure. See you next time What Sam Sees.♪ ♪
Captioned by Captionmax
