Feds Will Consider Imperiled Nassau Grouper for Protection

National Marine Fisheries Service to Conduct Status Review of the Species

Washington, DC – The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today announced a positive 90-day finding on WildEarth Guardians’ petition to list the Nassau grouper under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NMFS identified historic and continued human exploitation and inadequate regulatory protection from overfishing  as primary threats to the species. The agency will now conduct a detailed review of the species to determine if it warrants listing under the ESA.

“We are glad to see this rare fish advance toward ESA protection,” said Taylor Jones, Endangered Species Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Their population is declining and they need all the help they can get.”

The Nassau grouper is a medium-sized sea bass, growing to a maximum size of about 39 inches and 55 pounds. They are found in the Western North Atlantic from Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, Yucatan Peninsula, and throughout the Caribbean to southern Brazil, including coral reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. They can live up to 29 years and mature at between 4-7 years of age.

Though normally solitary, Nassau groupers form large spawning aggregations (from a few dozen to historically over 100,000 individuals) on or near full moons from November through February when water temperatures are 25-26 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, these aggregations are vulnerable to fishing as they are predictable in location and timing. Often, the discovery of a spawning aggregation is followed by heavy exploitation, and the local population can be extirpated in as little as a few years.

Scientists estimate there may be as few as 10,000 Nassau groupers remaining worldwide, and their numbers are declining.


 

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