United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Grouper, Snowy grouper
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Ranges from Massachusetts to Texas. Commercially important stocks occur off the southeast coast of the U.S. (North Carolina to Georgia), Florida west coast, and lower Florida Keys(Ref. 5222). Percentage of males in the population off North and South Carolina appears to have decreased significantly, from 7-23% in the 1970s and 1980s to 1% in the 1990s and mean length of fish landed in the longline fishery has steadily decreased from 65-80 cm in the early 1980s to 50-60 cm in the mid-1990s (Ref. 45886). Also Ref. 276, 26340, 26938, 89707.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Mérou neige, Cherna pintada, Seabass, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: More on author: Valenciennes.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 30 - 525 m (Ref. 5222), usually 100 - 200 m (Ref. 5222). Subtropical; 41°N - 27°S, 98°W - 34°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951) to Massachusetts, USA to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 54.0, range 47 - ? cm
Max length : 122 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 30.0 kg (Ref. 5222); max. reported age: 27 years (Ref. 3090)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 15; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9. Distinguished by the following characteristics: Dark margin on spiny dorsal fin and dark saddle on caudal peduncle that extends below lateral line (Ref. 26938); juveniles with pale yellow caudal and pectoral fins; black saddle blotch on the caudal peduncle reaching below lateral line; depth of body contained 2.4-2.8 times in SL; head length 2.2-2.4 times in SL; convex interorbital area, width less than or subequal to eye diameter; enlarged serrae at angle of preopercle; distinctly convex upper edge of operculum; posterior nostrils 2-5 times larger than anterior nostrils (Ref. 89707).

Adults occur well offshore on rocky bottoms. Juveniles may be found inshore and are often reported from the northeastern coast of the U.S (Ref. 89707). Adults feed on fishes, gastropods, cephalopods, and brachyuran crustaceans (Ref. 5222). Valuable commercial food fish (Ref. 26938).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

The size (76.7-109 cm) and age (8-29 yr) of 97 male specimens and the capture of two specimens undergoing sex change provided conclusive evidence that snowy grouper are protogynous hermaphrodites (Ref. 45886).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Craig, M.T. and P.A. Hastings, 2007. A molecular phylogeny of the groupers of the subfamily Epinephelinae (Serranidae) with revised classification of the epinephelini. Ichthyol. Res. 54:1-17. (Ref. 83414)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd+4bd); Date assessed: 21 November 2016

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 14.8 - 23.7, mean 19.5 (based on 93 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01585 (0.01218 - 0.02063), b=3.04 (3.01 - 3.07), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.0 ±0.58 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.07-0.09; tmax=27).

Prior r = 0.17, 95% CL = 0.11 - 0.25, Based on 1 full stock assessment.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High vulnerability (64 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Very high.

Hyporthodus niveatus (Valenciennes, 1828)