Schools of Fish Dance and Shimmer around Immense Goliath Groupers – An Amazing Sight

Sunday 12 October 2014

In September the Goliath Grouper gather around wrecks off the South Florida coast. These immense fish which have been known to attack both divers and sharks bring with them a host of other, much smaller fish – including large schools of snappers and grunts.

The sight of these fish (metaphorically) dancing around the goliaths, beautifully reflecting light, was captured by photographer and videographer Lee Burghard – and it’s great to see someone filming these mysterious giants of the seas. He called his short film Shimmer. You will see why when you watch it!

These goliaths are part of a recovering population. Although they may not be, to our eyes, the most appealing of fish their meat is considered something of a delicacy. Its downfall was its fearlessness and curiosity – it investigates new arrivals in the ocean (such as diving fishermen with spear guns) and as it is relatively slow moving and large was an easy target. The species became critically endangered in the 1980s.

Fortunately, the US put a hunting ban on the species in 1990 and since then many other countries have followed its lead. However, it is going to take a long time for numbers to recover – the goliath grouper is a slow grower and takes its time both to reach maturity and to start playing the mating game. Perhaps our grandchildren will be able to witness oceans as full of goliath groupers as they were before we developed a taste for their flesh.

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