Grouper

The status of many grouper populations (or stocks) is highly uncertain due to the limited information available, and fishing pressures are intensifying. Some groupers are Endangered or Critically Endangered.Route 2 scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of reference points for fishing pressure and biomass. Groupers are among those species most vulnerable to fishing pressure because of life history characteristics including longevity, late sexual maturation and aggregation spawning.According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), groupers contributed more than 275,000 tonnes to global capture fisheries production in 2009, which represented an increase of nearly 25% from the previous decade (approximately 214,000 tonnes in 1999) and was more than 17 times the capture production reported in 1950 of approximately 16,000 tonnes.In most countries, including the top producers, grouper fisheries have no information on the sustainability status of these important resources. In addition, knowledge about fishing pressure in grouper fisheries worldwide is also very limited. Around 90% of the fisheries for which data is compiled have no fishing mortality information. Reef Check surveys indicate that overfishing is occurring in the Caribbean, as large groupers are uncommon or absent on several reefs, and some species absent altogether.The most recent assessments available on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species considered more than 11% of the global grouper species (Epinephelidae family: 167 species) as threatened (i.e., Vulnerable; Endangered; Critically Endangered), 5% Near Threatened, 69% Least Concern, and 15% Data Deficient, preventing adequate evaluation.Few grouper fisheries, despite their economic importance, are regularly monitored or managed at the species level, and many are in decline.A small number of grouper landings have been recorded in the UK within the last decade (source MMO data). 0.575 tonnes of Dusky perch, also known as Dusky grouper, was landed by UK vessels between 2012 and 2017, caught in the northern Bay of Biscay, south-west Ireland and the North-east region of the UK. There have been no reported catches within the last 5-years. Dusky perch is listed as an Endangered species by the IUCN, in Europe, and would receive a default red rating by MCS, as would any other species listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

As a global assessment for all species of grouper, specific management measures for individual fisheries or countries have not been confirmed or evaluated. While there are a few known exceptions, for most grouper fisheries there is no relevant or effective management.Grouper fisheries are classified as data limited fisheries. Effective management of many species is often challenged by the limited quantity and quality of information available.Most regions where most threatened groupers occur (Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean, Gulf of Guinea, Mediterranean, Central and West Pacific, and SE Asia) have little to no management in place.Management for groupers is sparse, where measures exist enforcement is often lax or ineffective. ~50% of threatened (IUCN Red List) grouper species have no species-specific protection other than Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) overlapping their ranges. Few groupers are regularly monitored at species level.Various fishing regulations are in place for some grouper fisheries (such as gear limitations, catch limits/quotas, minimum or maximum size, seasonal or spatial fishery closures). However, lack of historical and/or species-specific data on fishery catch and effort, as well as studies on life history characteristics, often results in ineffective fishery management and prevents adaptive management.For groupers, fishery-dependent data on which to make many local fishery management decisions are severely limited, and several years of data collection may be required to implement optimally designed management measures.A ban on the harvest of all large-bodied grouper species may be necessary to help to re-establish populations and self-sustaining spawning aggregations.There is no minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) in place for grouper(s) caught in UK waters, which could provide protection to immature fish. Fish caught below size at maturity would likely not have had the chance to reproduce.Both the EU and UK have fishery management measures in place, which can include catch limits, targets for population sizes and fishing mortality, and controls on what fishing gear can be used and where. In the EU, compliance with regulations has been variable, and there are ongoing challenges with implementing some of them. In the UK, it is too early to tell how effective management is, as the Fisheries Act only came into force in January 2021. The Act requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans).MCS is keen to see publicly available Fishery Management Plans for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include:Targets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best available scientific evidenceTimeframes for stock recoveryImproved data collection, transparency and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM)Consideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery

Grouper can be caught by a variety of fishing methods, some of which, can be detrimental to their vulnerable reef habitat and other marine species.A wide variety of fishing gears such as spearguns, traps and handlines are used in reef fisheries throughout the world. Groupers are typically shot out of reefs by commercial spearfishing or targeted using handlines.Groupers are distributed across the globe, and their habitats vary dependant on species and life cycle stage, amongst other factors. Generally, juveniles are typically found in inshore habitats such as seagrass beds, coral clumps, and other nursery habitats, whilst mature fish commonly inhabit the bottom of tropical and subtropical marine habitats and are strongly associated with stony environments and coral reefs. They are found at depths between 0-200 meters, and occasionally up to 500 meters.Spearfishing is one of the most common, yet controversial, forms of fishing on coral reefs. It is highly selective (I.e., species and size), thus has minimal impact on non-target species. However, spearfishing is perceived to be more efficient (in terms of Catch Per Unit Effort), thus more destructive to populations, compared to other fishing gears and targets keystone species which have critical ecosystem functions. Groupers, especially those larger and long-lived, are highly susceptible to spearfishing being easy to spot and relatively sedentary. For these reasons, the legitimacy and desirability of spearfishing have often been questioned and appeals for stringent regulation or prohibition have emerged in developed and developing countries.Fishing with hook and line (handline, tolling, lures, rod and reel) is one of the most sustainable and species selective fishing methods available and has little to no impact on the seabed.Pots and traps are largely considered to be a relatively environmentally friendly form of fishing but present an entanglement risk, particularly to large whales.Gill nets are recognised as the highest risk gear globally, posing serious risk to harbour porpoises and other cetaceans where their distribution overlaps with gill net use.Stony corals have fragile skeletons and soft tissues that can easily become damaged when they get in contact with lost fishing gear.Dusky Perch (Epinephelus marginatus) has previously been caught by gill or fixed nets (in the Bay of Biscay), hooks and lines (in SW Ireland), and pots and traps (in UK inshore waters, North Sea) by UK boats (Source MMO data).UK regulations to reduce the impacts of fishing on marine habitats and wider species are under development, in the meantime most EU regulation have been adopted. Under EU legislation, bycatch species should be managed within scientifically defined or, where data isn’t available, suitability precautionary sustainable exploration limits. If stocks fall below a certain threshold, measures can be brought in such as gear limitations (e.g., mesh size or depth of use), time and/or areas closures, and Minimum Conservation Reference Sizes (MCRS).

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