What Now, Goliath?
May 16, 2011
By Karl Wickstrom
What in the world should we do about those big guys?
Are the giant groupers eating us out of house and home, like the kid who grows into a high school football player and becomes an all-conference threat to everything in the refrigerator?
For some years now, legions of Florida anglers have grumbled that a resurgence of goliaths has thrown fish populations way out of balance in many areas.
A common lament: “You can't even bring up a fish at lots of places without a jewfish (goliath's former name) breaking you off. It's so bad that we don't fish certain wrecks anymore.”
A common lament: “You can't even bring up a fish at lots of places without a jewfish (goliath's former name) breaking you off. It's so bad that we don't fish certain wrecks anymore.”Is it time to re-open some kind of season on these giants that not uncommonly top 300 pounds?
It's a sticky wicket that we explore in this issue's lead article.
The goliath's been off limits since all keeping of them was banned without much fanfare in 1990. Most observers said the stocks had been depleted by commercial spearfishing.
Since then, this biggest of groupers has without doubt come back strong.
Some folks, however, say it's still too soon to think about an opening. But one gets the feeling that no-take is their automatic position, permanently.
At any rate, the options will be debated, often heatedly, over many days ahead. The exchange of opinions is interesting, and helpful in considering what's best for the resource and what alternatives would provide the best use for the most people.
I'd recommend that any opening should be very conservative, and followed by careful, unbiased research.
A one-fish bag limit during six months of the year would seem to be a judicious start.
Allow spearing? Not for starters, at least, I'd say.
Two close friends who together have 60 years of both spearing and angling experience think spearing of the docile, easily approached goliath is a tad unsporting.
But opinions run the gamut, as you see on the conservation section of the FS Forum.
Spearing or not, there's one goliath provision that should be settled from the start: No commercial sale.
It was that profit motive that got us in such trouble before. You can be sure, though, that there will be advocates for marketing the goliaths, which could be worth millions on the meat counters (while they last).
Best let David slay the occasional Goliath, for personal use only.
