Species profile
Red Grouper
Epinephelus morio
At a glance
Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio) is an IUCN Vulnerable bony-fish species regulated in 5 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
The strictest bag limit is 2 (Florida); the most generous is 10 (California).
Across 4 jurisdictions with stated minimum sizes, the average minimum is 20.0 in (≈ 1 ft 8 in).
Confirmed by 210 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Florida, New York, and Georgia the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Born female; some individuals transition to male later in life, a process called protogyny.
- Can live up to 25 years and grow to 33 inches long.
- Excavates and maintains rocky seafloor depressions, creating shelter for dozens of other species.
- One of the most commercially important grouper species in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Prefers hard-bottom reef habitat in water depths ranging from 10 to 400 feet.
Where Red Grouper are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Red Grouper
Background
The red grouper (Epinephelus morio) is a species of fish in the Family Serranidae. The red grouper's typical range is coastal areas in the western Atlantic, stretching from southern Brazil to North Carolina in the US and including the Gulf of Mexico. This demersal, largely sedentary species has an extended (~40 day) pelagic larval stage before it settles in shallow coastal hardbottom habitat as…
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Red Grouper article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other bony fish on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.