WEBVTT 00:00.067 --> 00:01.101 . 00:01.101 --> 00:03.370 >>Major funding for this program was provided 00:03.370 --> 00:07.207 by the Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people to preserve 00:07.207 --> 00:11.945 and protect America's underwater resources. 00:20.821 --> 00:22.589 >>NARRATOR: It's an imposing fish, 00:22.589 --> 00:26.860 sure to inspire awe in those who see it. 00:26.860 --> 00:29.663 At a time when other large fish are rapidly disappearing 00:29.663 --> 00:33.934 from the world's oceans, this giant is making a comeback 00:33.934 --> 00:36.336 in Florida. 00:36.336 --> 00:38.138 >>It's a unique feeling to be able to get close 00:38.138 --> 00:42.075 to a marine animal that's as big as you. 00:42.075 --> 00:44.578 >>NARRATOR: This is the goliath grouper, 00:44.578 --> 00:48.148 a fish once almost hunted to extinction. 00:48.148 --> 00:51.285 >>It's like going to a park where you never saw a bear 00:51.285 --> 00:53.287 for years and years, and now you see 00:53.287 --> 00:55.622 a dozen big grizzly bears, 00:55.622 --> 00:58.058 I mean it's an impressive thing to see. 00:58.058 --> 00:59.426 >>NARRATOR: But the goliath's return 00:59.426 --> 01:01.962 is not a welcome sight to all. 01:01.962 --> 01:05.699 >>Both spear fishermen and rod and reel fishermen believe 01:05.699 --> 01:09.503 the goliath grouper is eating everything on the reef 01:09.503 --> 01:14.508 and is destroying the ecosystem. 01:14.508 --> 01:17.177 >>NARRATOR: But what does the scientific data show? 01:17.177 --> 01:20.414 Are goliaths' really overpopulating the reef? 01:20.414 --> 01:24.785 Or is this species just now beginning to recover? 01:59.119 --> 02:01.922 >>NARRATOR: They are an impressive sight, 02:01.922 --> 02:05.993 the largest fish on the reef. 02:05.993 --> 02:07.794 They can weigh up to 1,000 pounds 02:07.794 --> 02:12.766 and exceed seven feet in length. 02:12.766 --> 02:15.669 Goliath grouper, which used to be known as jewfish, 02:15.669 --> 02:19.973 historically were found from as far north as the Carolinas, 02:19.973 --> 02:23.343 across the Caribbean and south to Brazil. 02:23.343 --> 02:26.546 The fish can also be found off the west coast of Africa, 02:26.546 --> 02:31.018 and a distinct subspecies exists in the Pacific. 02:31.018 --> 02:34.554 Today, they are considered critically endangered 02:34.554 --> 02:38.592 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 02:38.592 --> 02:41.428 >>Everywhere except the southeastern United States, 02:41.428 --> 02:44.331 they are indeed critically endangered. 02:44.331 --> 02:45.332 Of course, they're protected throughout 02:45.332 --> 02:47.601 all U.S. possessions: Puerto Rico, 02:47.601 --> 02:51.672 the Virgin Islands, as well as southeastern United States. 02:51.672 --> 02:53.974 They were on the threatened species list, but they have 02:53.974 --> 02:56.677 been since taken off that list because their population 02:56.677 --> 02:57.978 in the southeastern United States 02:57.978 --> 03:02.149 is on the road to recovery. 03:02.149 --> 03:04.284 >>NARRATOR: Goliaths are a shallow water species, 03:04.284 --> 03:07.220 rarely found at depths below 200 feet. 03:07.220 --> 03:10.424 They need water temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit 03:10.424 --> 03:13.760 to survive, which limits their range. 03:13.760 --> 03:15.562 And for the most part, they are curious, 03:15.562 --> 03:17.497 but shy creatures. 03:17.497 --> 03:19.599 They often retreat to their favorite hideout 03:19.599 --> 03:22.436 when humans approach. 03:22.436 --> 03:24.838 >>These are animals that don't move much. 03:24.838 --> 03:26.373 They sit. 03:26.373 --> 03:27.841 They love wrecks. 03:27.841 --> 03:29.776 They love caves. 03:29.776 --> 03:31.445 They love any kind of structure 03:31.445 --> 03:34.581 that typically has an overhead for them. 03:34.581 --> 03:38.151 It gives them a sense of security, I suppose. 03:38.151 --> 03:39.820 >>Basically, I kind of joke about calling them 03:39.820 --> 03:41.888 the "couch potatoes" of the grouper family. 03:41.888 --> 03:44.357 >>They don't even eat every day. 03:44.357 --> 03:46.393 >>NARRATOR: Aside from their tremendous size, 03:46.393 --> 03:49.529 divers and fishermen can easily distinguish goliaths 03:49.529 --> 03:52.566 from other grouper species by the brown stripes 03:52.566 --> 03:54.334 along the sides of their bod 03:54.334 --> 03:58.338 and their distinctive rounded tail fin. 04:04.444 --> 04:06.580 Recreational fishermen have long enjoyed 04:06.580 --> 04:10.050 Florida's waters for the impressive catches they yield, 04:10.050 --> 04:13.787 which used to include goliath grouper. 04:13.787 --> 04:16.923 Historical photographs show proud anglers posing beside 04:16.923 --> 04:22.395 their massive catches, fish larger than themselves. 04:22.395 --> 04:27.467 In those days, the resource seemed endless. 04:27.467 --> 04:31.404 >>The wrecks offshore, at 100, 150 feet probably had 04:31.404 --> 04:33.874 over 100 jewfish each on them. 04:33.874 --> 04:37.010 They were just absolutely packed. 04:37.010 --> 04:38.712 >>NARRATOR: Don Demaria, who used to work 04:38.712 --> 04:41.648 as a commercial fisherman, says goliath grouper 04:41.648 --> 04:44.551 are an easy target. 04:44.551 --> 04:47.921 He started spearing them commercially in the late 1970s 04:47.921 --> 04:51.792 on remote wrecks in the Gulf of Mexico. 04:51.792 --> 04:54.127 >>We'd catch most of these jewfish between Key West 04:54.127 --> 04:56.930 and Tampa, mostly off the Fort Myers area. 04:56.930 --> 04:59.399 There seemed to be the biggest concentration of them. 04:59.399 --> 05:02.202 And we'd bring them back and sell them in Key West. 05:02.202 --> 05:05.672 In Key West it was always a local delicacy among the conchs. 05:05.672 --> 05:07.307 >>NARRATOR: Don and his colleagues discovered 05:07.307 --> 05:09.676 that goliath grouper tend to aggregate around 05:09.676 --> 05:13.146 certain wrecks and ledges in the summertime. 05:13.146 --> 05:15.315 >>That's when they aggregated to spawn, 05:15.315 --> 05:19.085 which was the ultimate downfall of the fishery is that 05:19.085 --> 05:21.988 they aggregate in these large groups. 05:21.988 --> 05:24.958 >>NARRATOR: With the advent of modern-day navigation devices, 05:24.958 --> 05:28.195 fishermen could soon locate these aggregation sites 05:28.195 --> 05:31.598 easily in the offshore waters of the Gulf. 05:31.598 --> 05:33.466 >>But over the years more and more people got into it 05:33.466 --> 05:36.203 and it didn't take much. 05:36.203 --> 05:39.573 Very little extra pressure and I saw spawning aggregations 05:39.573 --> 05:44.578 go from 100 fish down to in one case just one fish, 05:44.578 --> 05:46.880 other areas none. 05:46.880 --> 05:48.715 One of these wrecks was the "California." 05:48.715 --> 05:50.817 This wreck had an unbelievable amount of fish on it, 05:50.817 --> 05:52.319 way over 100. 05:52.319 --> 05:54.588 And I went there after a charter dive boat 05:54.588 --> 05:57.357 and it was just sickening what we saw. 05:57.357 --> 05:59.726 There were fish swimming around with spears in their sides. 05:59.726 --> 06:02.996 Others had big hook and line like broken chain-type rigs 06:02.996 --> 06:04.397 where they had broken off. 06:04.397 --> 06:07.601 And it's my understanding they took something like 30 fish 06:07.601 --> 06:09.536 back to Marco Island, these fish would average 06:09.536 --> 06:13.139 about 200 pounds each, took their photographs with them 06:13.139 --> 06:14.541 and didn't have enough ice for the fish 06:14.541 --> 06:17.477 and they ultimately it just got wasted. 06:17.477 --> 06:21.114 >>NARRATOR: That was in the late 1980s. 06:21.114 --> 06:24.417 Don and his friends decided to take action. 06:24.417 --> 06:29.923 >>Don knew so much about goliath grouper behavior 06:29.923 --> 06:32.792 and populations and it was just amazing. 06:32.792 --> 06:36.730 And thank god he became a conservationist because 06:36.730 --> 06:40.100 he could have probably wiped them out by himself. 06:40.100 --> 06:43.637 And he actually went to the fishery management councils 06:43.637 --> 06:47.474 and said, "You've got to stop fishing on this species; 06:47.474 --> 06:50.143 can't take this level of fishing; it's going 06:50.143 --> 06:51.878 to be completely annihilated." 06:51.878 --> 06:54.814 When you have a commercial fisherman that comes up to you 06:54.814 --> 06:59.753 and says, "save this fish" you pay attention to it. 06:59.753 --> 07:01.688 And I would say that he 07:01.688 --> 07:05.058 single-handedly convinced people. 07:05.058 --> 07:07.394 That's not usually the way it happens. 07:07.394 --> 07:10.397 It usually takes a long time 07:10.397 --> 07:12.532 before there's scientific evidence 07:12.532 --> 07:16.002 that a population is in trouble. 07:16.002 --> 07:18.038 >>There were people locally that grumbled about it, 07:18.038 --> 07:20.240 but there was just so few fish left that there 07:20.240 --> 07:24.244 just wasn't much opposition. 07:27.647 --> 07:30.984 >>NARRATOR: And so, in 1990, the goliath grouper fisher 07:30.984 --> 07:35.422 was closed in U.S. waters. 07:35.422 --> 07:37.590 Today, the harvest of this species 07:37.590 --> 07:42.595 is a second degree misdemeanor that carries a fine. 07:47.367 --> 07:50.470 A few years after the closure, marine ecologists 07:50.470 --> 07:53.139 Dr. Felicia Coleman and Dr. Chris Koenig 07:53.139 --> 07:57.310 began studying the life history of these giant fish. 07:57.310 --> 07:58.611 The husband and wife team, 07:58.611 --> 08:00.714 who work at the coastal and marine laborator 08:00.714 --> 08:04.818 at Florida State University have conducted a number of studies 08:04.818 --> 08:10.790 over the years to gain a better understanding of the species. 08:10.790 --> 08:15.328 To collect their data scientists spend many hours at sea. 08:15.328 --> 08:18.365 Chris works closely with local captains and fishermen 08:18.365 --> 08:20.867 who often have an intimate knowledge of the sites 08:20.867 --> 08:23.436 where the grouper can be found. 08:23.436 --> 08:27.173 One of them is Tony Grogan, who operates a popular website 08:27.173 --> 08:29.743 for spear fishermen. 08:29.743 --> 08:32.512 Tony often volunteers his boat to take scientists 08:32.512 --> 08:34.280 into the field. 08:34.280 --> 08:36.349 >>I'm a big advocate of good science 08:36.349 --> 08:40.220 and sound fisheries management decisions. 08:40.220 --> 08:42.956 >>NARRATOR: In recent years, goliath grouper have again 08:42.956 --> 08:44.824 started to aggregate on wrecks 08:44.824 --> 08:47.060 and ledges near Jupiter, Florida, 08:47.060 --> 08:51.031 close to where Tony lives. 08:51.031 --> 08:53.466 By the 1960s, most of the goliaths 08:53.466 --> 08:57.037 along South Florida's Atlantic Coast had been fished out, 08:57.037 --> 09:07.847 so it is very encouraging to see the animals return. 09:07.847 --> 09:10.183 To collect valuable data about the fish, 09:10.183 --> 09:13.086 the grouper need to be brought up to the surface. 09:13.086 --> 09:17.090 Usually, Chris sets a hand line to capture the goliaths, 09:17.090 --> 09:19.692 but on this trip Tony and his friends came up 09:19.692 --> 09:22.062 with another idea. 09:22.062 --> 09:24.130 >>We're actually fishing, hook and line, 09:24.130 --> 09:27.333 long line underwater and we're using a lift bag, 09:27.333 --> 09:29.602 to send the goliath grouper up. 09:29.602 --> 09:32.639 We tie off the lift bag away from the wreck, 09:32.639 --> 09:35.308 so we can catch them and prevent them from running back 09:35.308 --> 09:38.011 into the wreck, and very carefully send them 09:38.011 --> 09:43.016 up on the lift bag. 09:53.993 --> 09:55.028 Cool, they got one. 09:55.028 --> 09:59.632 Look over there! 09:59.632 --> 10:01.267 >>Good job, Jim. 10:01.267 --> 10:03.436 >>NARRATOR: Once the fish is on the surface, 10:03.436 --> 10:06.639 it needs to be brought up to the boat for a work-up. 10:06.639 --> 10:09.676 This particular goliath grouper is relatively small 10:09.676 --> 10:13.313 and therefore easier to handle. 10:13.313 --> 10:16.549 Chris can tell how old the fish is by removing parts 10:16.549 --> 10:19.285 of its dorsal fin ray. 10:19.285 --> 10:21.921 >>That's the so-called soft ray. 10:21.921 --> 10:25.358 It lays down rings like the rings of a tree 10:25.358 --> 10:28.061 and so we can estimate age of the fish. 10:28.061 --> 10:29.662 >>NARRATOR: Traditionally, fish are aged 10:29.662 --> 10:32.899 by looking at the rings found in their ear bones. 10:32.899 --> 10:35.068 But since this would require killing the fish, 10:35.068 --> 10:37.904 Chris and Felicia discovered that taking a piece 10:37.904 --> 10:41.875 of the dorsal fin ray works just as well. 10:41.875 --> 10:44.177 >>We felt like it was very important not to sacrifice 10:44.177 --> 10:45.378 those fish. 10:45.378 --> 10:49.949 You can remove the rays from the fish and they can re-grow. 10:49.949 --> 10:52.585 You can go back and check on a number of different things 10:52.585 --> 10:54.554 like growth rate of individual fish, 10:54.554 --> 10:58.658 if you can repeatedly capture the same individual. 10:58.658 --> 11:00.994 >>NARRATOR: Historically, goliath grouper can live 11:00.994 --> 11:03.663 to be at least 37 years old, 11:03.663 --> 11:06.866 but because of the severe fishing pressures in the past, 11:06.866 --> 11:10.703 the current population is still relatively young. 11:10.703 --> 11:13.473 >>All of the individuals we've looked at are under 18, 11:13.473 --> 11:17.777 which is the time of the fishery closure in 1990. 11:17.777 --> 11:26.753 So their population was clearly beat way, way back. 11:26.753 --> 11:28.454 >>NARRATOR: Next, it's time to analyze 11:28.454 --> 11:30.823 the stomach contents of the fish. 11:30.823 --> 11:33.326 This is done by inserting a metal tube into the mouth 11:33.326 --> 11:35.995 of the fish, and pulling out whatever food may be 11:35.995 --> 11:37.730 in the fish's stomach. 11:37.730 --> 11:41.267 >>By and large, they're eating crabs, shrimp, 11:41.267 --> 11:42.702 they're eating some lobster. 11:42.702 --> 11:46.105 They're eating stingrays and things like that. 11:46.105 --> 11:48.441 Now that just gives you a snapshot of what 11:48.441 --> 11:50.610 the fish just ate. 11:50.610 --> 11:52.445 >>NARRATOR: To really get a comprehensive look 11:52.445 --> 11:55.114 at the diet of the fish, scientists need to conduct 11:55.114 --> 11:58.284 a chemical analysis of tissue samples. 11:58.284 --> 12:02.956 >>And what you're looking for there is a signal or a signature 12:02.956 --> 12:05.758 that tells you what the diet is made up. 12:05.758 --> 12:07.827 So the studies that we've done on goliath grouper 12:07.827 --> 12:12.298 strongly indicate that these guys eat crustaceans, 12:12.298 --> 12:14.500 not fish primarily. 12:14.500 --> 12:17.604 >>NARRATOR: Having this kind of data is not only interesting 12:17.604 --> 12:20.907 from a scientific standpoint, but it also helps to shed light 12:20.907 --> 12:23.476 on a big controversy that has been brewing 12:23.476 --> 12:26.145 since the number of goliaths' has gone up again 12:26.145 --> 12:27.981 in Florida waters. 12:27.981 --> 12:30.950 >>A lot of the fishermen are under the impression 12:30.950 --> 12:34.487 that goliath grouper are destroying the reefs 12:34.487 --> 12:38.625 by focusing on feeding on the other grouper 12:38.625 --> 12:42.028 and snapper species, leaving fewer for them to fish. 12:42.028 --> 12:46.933 Now an equally plausible explanation for what they think 12:46.933 --> 12:50.970 is happening is that all of the grouper and snapper 12:50.970 --> 12:53.406 have basically been fished out. 12:53.406 --> 12:56.676 And the reason they're seeing goliath grouper is because 12:56.676 --> 13:00.847 it's a protected species and so that's what's left on the reef. 13:00.847 --> 13:03.116 There's no question that they're opportunistic. 13:03.116 --> 13:06.719 If they see a fish going by on a hook or piece of bait, 13:06.719 --> 13:08.655 they'll take it. 13:08.655 --> 13:09.789 >>NARRATOR: But, Felicia says, 13:09.789 --> 13:12.425 snapper and other grouper species do not seem to be 13:12.425 --> 13:16.562 their preferred diet. 13:16.562 --> 13:19.465 Once all the scientific data has been collected, 13:19.465 --> 13:23.236 and the fish has been tagged, it is time to release it. 13:23.236 --> 13:27.206 >>We're going to lower it. 13:27.206 --> 13:30.777 >>We've tagged thousands of fish over the last 13:30.777 --> 13:36.549 ten or 12 years, and we find the same fish on the same rock 13:36.549 --> 13:38.418 year after year after year. 13:38.418 --> 13:40.320 And that's not to say that the fish don't move. 13:40.320 --> 13:43.423 When sex comes into the picture, they'll go 100 miles 13:43.423 --> 13:45.325 and participate in spawning events, 13:45.325 --> 13:48.528 but they'll come back to the same rock. 13:48.528 --> 13:51.698 >>NARRATOR: Scientists aren't sure how these fish know where 13:51.698 --> 13:54.100 to join up for these annual aggregations 13:54.100 --> 13:56.803 that have been documented in the Gulf of Mexico 13:56.803 --> 14:00.973 during the late summer months. 14:00.973 --> 14:03.109 In recent years, the fish have also been gathering 14:03.109 --> 14:06.012 in the Atlantic, near Jupiter. 14:06.012 --> 14:10.216 It is suspected that these might be spawning sites as well, 14:10.216 --> 14:13.086 and to test that hypothesis, Tony and the scientists 14:13.086 --> 14:19.025 head back out later in the day to study the aggregation sites. 14:19.025 --> 14:22.295 But will they be able to gather goliath grouper eggs, 14:22.295 --> 14:27.900 the ultimate proof that spawning is taking place? 14:27.900 --> 14:29.869 >>The information that we've gotten from studies 14:29.869 --> 14:33.005 done on sound output by goliath grouper 14:33.005 --> 14:36.576 during spawning indicate that they spawn around 14:36.576 --> 14:38.811 a new moon on dark nights, 14:38.811 --> 14:42.749 somewhere between midnight and 3:00 AM in the morning. 14:42.749 --> 14:47.353 And this is evidence, as I said, but we don't have any real proof 14:47.353 --> 14:50.390 that they're doing this, and proof would constitute 14:50.390 --> 14:52.992 collecting their fertilized eggs. 14:52.992 --> 14:55.395 >>NARRATOR: Chris deploys plankton nets in the water 14:55.395 --> 14:58.865 at night, in hopes of catching some eggs. 14:58.865 --> 15:01.100 Meanwhile, his colleague, Jim Locascio, 15:01.100 --> 15:05.238 who studies fish acoustics, prepares to deploy a hydrophone 15:05.238 --> 15:07.473 in the vicinity of the nets. 15:07.473 --> 15:10.143 >>The dominant sounds tonight in this environment 15:10.143 --> 15:12.245 are probably going to be by the goliath grouper 15:12.245 --> 15:14.580 at an expected spawning location. 15:14.580 --> 15:18.184 Sounds produced by many species of fish are done so 15:18.184 --> 15:21.988 in a specific behavioral context, most often 15:21.988 --> 15:24.924 it's associated with courtship and spawning. 15:24.924 --> 15:28.227 And in most cases, almost without exception 15:28.227 --> 15:30.563 it is the male that produces the sound, 15:30.563 --> 15:34.700 courting advertising, for a female. 15:34.700 --> 15:36.869 This is a hydrophone that is connected to the top 15:36.869 --> 15:39.806 of the housing and it is just like an underwater microphone; 15:39.806 --> 15:41.441 it is going to be recording ambient sounds 15:41.441 --> 15:45.411 in a frequency range that is within the sounds 15:45.411 --> 15:47.447 made by the goliath grouper, which is quite low, 15:47.447 --> 15:50.750 below 100 hertz about 40 or 50 hertz, 15:50.750 --> 15:52.351 very low frequencies. 15:52.351 --> 15:54.821 >>All right, it's on the bottom, Tony. 15:54.821 --> 15:57.890 >>NARRATOR: If this location is indeed a spawning site, 15:57.890 --> 15:59.759 the dominant sounds recorded 15:59.759 --> 16:03.763 should be those of the goliath grouper. 16:06.265 --> 16:09.902 Goliath grouper are famous for the very loud booming sounds 16:09.902 --> 16:13.039 they make-- not just to attract potential mates-- 16:13.039 --> 16:15.141 but also as a defense mechanism 16:15.141 --> 16:18.744 to scare off potential predators. 16:18.744 --> 16:21.747 >>They're very deep resonating booms and they make them 16:21.747 --> 16:24.116 with their swim bladder and muscles that are attached 16:24.116 --> 16:25.284 to the swim bladder. 16:25.284 --> 16:27.787 They vibrate those muscles at a rapid speed, 16:27.787 --> 16:31.157 say 100 times a second or in that range. 16:31.157 --> 16:35.728 The closest thing I can liken it to on land is like a sonic boom. 16:35.728 --> 16:37.563 >>Oftentimes divers are able to feel the sound 16:37.563 --> 16:38.631 before they hear it. 16:38.631 --> 16:42.001 And you feel it in your lungs, it's a concussion 16:42.001 --> 16:44.237 from that pressure. 16:44.237 --> 16:48.074 And so it's quite intimidating as a diver if you aren't aware 16:48.074 --> 16:49.542 the fish is around. 16:49.542 --> 16:54.914 >>They do not appear to have a diverse vocabulary, 16:54.914 --> 16:57.950 that is the sounds that are produced 16:57.950 --> 17:01.087 when divers approach them also seems to be the same sounds 17:01.087 --> 17:05.091 that they produce with and amongst each other. 17:07.827 --> 17:13.032 >>NARRATOR: Now it's time to sit and wait. 17:18.004 --> 17:19.372 Early the next morning... 17:19.372 --> 17:20.973 >>Just keep pulling. 17:20.973 --> 17:21.974 >>NARRATOR: ...Chris and Jim retrieve 17:21.974 --> 17:25.111 the nets and hydrophone. 17:25.111 --> 17:27.680 Once ashore, the nets are washed down 17:27.680 --> 17:30.416 and their contents put through a sieve. 17:30.416 --> 17:34.020 >>It's fairly easy to separate the eggs from other plankton. 17:34.020 --> 17:38.124 And then, because of their stage of development and their size, 17:38.124 --> 17:40.493 we should be able to select goliath grouper eggs 17:40.493 --> 17:43.496 from whatever else we catch because they should be 17:43.496 --> 17:45.097 in very early stages of development 17:45.097 --> 17:48.000 when we pull our nets. 17:48.000 --> 17:49.702 >>NARRATOR: While Chris is taking a close look 17:49.702 --> 17:52.138 at the plankton under the microscope, 17:52.138 --> 17:56.042 Jim analyzes the sound he recorded on location. 17:56.042 --> 17:59.378 >>We recorded a lot of low frequency pulse sounds 17:59.378 --> 18:01.380 that you can see as the brighter signals 18:01.380 --> 18:04.183 along the bottom of the picture here of the spectrogram 18:04.183 --> 18:09.622 and most of this energy is at 100 hertz or below 100 hertz. 18:09.622 --> 18:12.158 So there's a series of individual calls 18:12.158 --> 18:14.827 that we can zoom in on and look closely at 18:14.827 --> 18:19.832 and identify the fish as a goliath grouper. 18:19.832 --> 18:21.567 >>NARRATOR: Jim's sound recordings indicate 18:21.567 --> 18:25.805 that the scientists documented a spawning aggregation. 18:25.805 --> 18:28.140 But the ultimate proof is in the eggs, 18:28.140 --> 18:32.211 thousands of which Chris collected in his nets. 18:32.211 --> 18:35.514 Later DNA tests of these eggs confirmed what scientists 18:35.514 --> 18:39.385 were hoping for: that goliath grouper are spawning again 18:39.385 --> 18:44.957 on Florida's east coast. 18:44.957 --> 18:48.060 Once the fertilized eggs hatch, the larvae will float 18:48.060 --> 18:51.631 in the plankton for about a month and a half. 18:51.631 --> 18:54.767 >>They hatch out probably in a day and a half. 18:54.767 --> 18:57.236 But when they hatch out, they don't have any mouths 18:57.236 --> 18:59.138 and they don't have any eyes. 18:59.138 --> 19:01.007 So, they're simply floating around, 19:01.007 --> 19:03.209 still living off of their yolk material. 19:03.209 --> 19:07.680 And over the next week or so, they develop mouth and eyes 19:07.680 --> 19:10.416 and they learn how to feed. 19:10.416 --> 19:12.518 And then there's the growth period, and by the time 19:12.518 --> 19:14.954 they settle, they're about three-quarters of an inch 19:14.954 --> 19:16.188 in total length. 19:16.188 --> 19:19.859 They undergo this metamorphosis that takes about a week, 19:19.859 --> 19:21.427 and then they're little groupers 19:21.427 --> 19:23.596 and they live in the mangrove leaf litter 19:23.596 --> 19:26.499 in the earliest stages and then move to the undercuts 19:26.499 --> 19:28.434 in the mangrove habitat. 19:28.434 --> 19:30.770 >>NARRATOR: The fish will spend their juvenile years 19:30.770 --> 19:34.073 in the mangrove forests using the mangrove's prop roots 19:34.073 --> 19:38.244 as protective cover from potential predators. 19:40.279 --> 19:42.848 North America's largest remaining mangrove forest 19:42.848 --> 19:47.386 is in the Ten Thousand Islands area of southwest Florida, 19:47.386 --> 19:51.557 the main stronghold for juvenile goliath grouper. 19:51.557 --> 19:56.529 >>We lost 28% of the mangroves in the 10,000 islands area 19:56.529 --> 19:59.565 just between the mid-'80s and the mid-'90s. 19:59.565 --> 20:03.135 That's a significant loss, considering it went on 20:03.135 --> 20:07.573 since the beginning of the 1900s for mosquito abatement, 20:07.573 --> 20:10.609 for agriculture, for just development 20:10.609 --> 20:12.578 of all of south Florida. 20:12.578 --> 20:14.814 The east coast essentially has no mangroves 20:14.814 --> 20:16.549 of consequence anymore. 20:16.549 --> 20:20.152 So there's a tight connection between the habitat availabilit 20:20.152 --> 20:24.190 and the success of this species. 20:24.190 --> 20:26.859 >>NARRATOR: And it's not just availability of juvenile habitat 20:26.859 --> 20:29.628 that matters, but the quality of that habitat 20:29.628 --> 20:31.931 is important as well. 20:31.931 --> 20:34.567 >>Water quality for goliath grouper, 20:34.567 --> 20:37.436 like most species, is important. 20:37.436 --> 20:41.440 It's particularly an issue in the juvenile habitat. 20:41.440 --> 20:44.176 We looked at them in a really pristine area 20:44.176 --> 20:47.279 in the Ten Thousand Islands, which is just incredible; 20:47.279 --> 20:49.415 but there are a number of rivers and canals 20:49.415 --> 20:53.219 that lead into that body of water. 20:53.219 --> 20:56.956 For one reason or another, the water quality is very poor. 20:56.956 --> 21:01.127 And what happens in those areas is that the densit 21:01.127 --> 21:04.163 of goliath grouper is not very high. 21:04.163 --> 21:06.932 So if you think about how you want to go about 21:06.932 --> 21:11.036 protecting a species like goliath grouper, 21:11.036 --> 21:14.406 it takes more than closing down the fishery. 21:14.406 --> 21:16.442 You need to protect the quality of water, 21:16.442 --> 21:22.748 the extent of the habitat, and keep fishing at a minimum. 21:22.748 --> 21:25.618 >>NARRATOR: Goliath grouper are easy to exploit. 21:25.618 --> 21:28.187 They aren't difficult to catch, and they can be found 21:28.187 --> 21:31.991 in large groups during the summer aggregations. 21:31.991 --> 21:33.993 >>They're relatively slow to mature. 21:33.993 --> 21:37.029 They're staying in the mangroves for five or six years. 21:37.029 --> 21:39.865 And when they first go offshore, 21:39.865 --> 21:43.402 they're not necessarily mature at that time. 21:43.402 --> 21:45.137 And yet, you're talking about 21:45.137 --> 21:49.108 an animal that's 50, 60, 70 pounds 21:49.108 --> 21:52.111 and it's still a juvenile. 21:52.111 --> 21:55.281 >>They become sexually mature at about four feet in length. 21:55.281 --> 21:58.584 And so, they become sexually mature as a function of size, 21:58.584 --> 22:00.052 rather than age. 22:00.052 --> 22:01.921 >>NARRATOR: While some grouper species 22:01.921 --> 22:04.356 change sex during their lifetime, 22:04.356 --> 22:07.092 Chris and Felicia say no such evidence exists 22:07.092 --> 22:10.930 for the goliath grouper. 22:10.930 --> 22:14.300 Scientists and many others are excited that the goliath grouper 22:14.300 --> 22:17.469 population is on the road to recovery. 22:17.469 --> 22:21.373 Walt Stearns is a professional photographer, 22:21.373 --> 22:23.676 who also publishes an online magazine 22:23.676 --> 22:26.378 called "Underwater Journal." 22:26.378 --> 22:28.848 His career has taken him to underwater locations 22:28.848 --> 22:31.584 all over the world, and he is delighted to see 22:31.584 --> 22:35.287 the fish make such a steady comeback in Florida. 22:35.287 --> 22:37.656 >>At the same time I was working for dive magazines 22:37.656 --> 22:40.292 covering central and southern Caribbean and the Bahamas, 22:40.292 --> 22:43.929 and I'm watching all grouper populations just diminish. 22:43.929 --> 22:46.966 Each time I went back I'd see less of them, see smaller fish. 22:46.966 --> 22:50.970 And here I'm seeing the goliath grouper come back. 22:50.970 --> 22:54.206 This is incredible to see protection work. 22:54.206 --> 22:58.077 >>NARRATOR: Unfortunately, not everyone shares his view. 22:58.077 --> 23:00.579 Some fishermen not only claim the grouper are eating 23:00.579 --> 23:03.782 all their game fish, but they also accuse the species 23:03.782 --> 23:06.986 of being aggressive towards them. 23:06.986 --> 23:08.654 >>I've never had any of them get aggressive. 23:08.654 --> 23:11.690 But, you know, some people will sit there and give these stories 23:11.690 --> 23:14.226 and it's like, "It came out and grabbed me and grabbed my arm 23:14.226 --> 23:15.661 and shook me like a rag doll." 23:15.661 --> 23:16.662 And I was like, really? 23:16.662 --> 23:18.898 I've never had that happen yet. 23:18.898 --> 23:20.633 I mean, they're big enough and strong enough 23:20.633 --> 23:23.302 where they physically can really hurt you, 23:23.302 --> 23:28.173 but for the most part they're big babies. 23:28.173 --> 23:30.910 >>NARRATOR: On his web site, Spearboard.com, 23:30.910 --> 23:34.713 Tony hears from folks on all sides of the issue. 23:34.713 --> 23:37.950 >>The internet is a big, wild and wooly place, 23:37.950 --> 23:40.352 and there are opinions all over. 23:40.352 --> 23:45.057 What I try to do is just take the middle road 23:45.057 --> 23:47.593 and ask questions about do we know enough 23:47.593 --> 23:50.596 to make an intelligent decision 23:50.596 --> 23:55.200 about any kind of fishery management decision. 23:55.200 --> 23:57.469 >>NARRATOR: Both scientists Felicia and Chris agree 23:57.469 --> 24:00.306 that while the grouper's recovery is encouraging, 24:00.306 --> 24:03.542 it is too early to reopen the fishery. 24:03.542 --> 24:06.879 >>When you've got a species that's critically endangered 24:06.879 --> 24:10.149 throughout its range, and you have one area 24:10.149 --> 24:12.351 where it's recovering, 24:12.351 --> 24:15.020 that being the southeastern United States, 24:15.020 --> 24:19.024 it doesn't make sense to open a fishery again, 24:19.024 --> 24:21.627 even at reduced levels, when we really don't understand 24:21.627 --> 24:24.797 what the population's doing yet. 24:24.797 --> 24:26.398 >>I think that until the entire population 24:26.398 --> 24:28.434 has recovered throughout its former range, 24:28.434 --> 24:32.037 there should be no harvest of goliath grouper. 24:35.674 --> 24:37.576 >>NARRATOR: Below the water's surface, 24:37.576 --> 24:41.113 the goliath grouper is oblivious to the controvers 24:41.113 --> 24:45.551 it has stirred up on land. 24:45.551 --> 24:48.387 It goes about its business like its ancestors 24:48.387 --> 24:51.724 have done for ages. 24:51.724 --> 24:54.159 Most people, who have had the privilege of seeing 24:54.159 --> 24:57.997 these fish up close, especially in large numbers, 24:57.997 --> 25:02.434 agree that they are an awesome sight to behold. 25:02.434 --> 25:04.737 One that will hopefully be around 25:04.737 --> 25:08.507 for many future generations to enjoy. 25:08.507 --> 25:11.510 >>It's hard to think of anybod 25:11.510 --> 25:13.479 who couldn't be fascinated by them. 25:13.479 --> 25:17.750 They're fabulous fish and they're a key feature 25:17.750 --> 25:22.488 of the ecology of this part of the world. 25:22.488 --> 25:24.623 >>I think it's one of those animals that's worth a lot more 25:24.623 --> 25:26.125 alive than dead. 25:26.125 --> 25:28.794 People can go out to the reef and these wrecks and see 25:28.794 --> 25:31.730 these fish over and over again, take pictures of it. 25:31.730 --> 25:35.401 It's just you kill it one time and it's over with, that's it, 25:35.401 --> 25:38.771 a fish that took 30 or 50 years to get to that size. 25:38.771 --> 25:40.973 I just think it's something that is unique to south Florida, 25:40.973 --> 25:43.008 there's nowhere else in the world where you can go 25:43.008 --> 25:45.511 where it is documented to see these large aggregations 25:45.511 --> 25:50.516 of big groupers like this. 26:21.847 --> 26:23.949 >>Major funding for this program 26:23.949 --> 26:26.218 was provided by the Batchelor Foundation, 26:26.218 --> 26:29.121 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 26:29.121 --> 26:33.121 America's underwater resources.