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ANGLER'S GUIDE TO FISHES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO!
This book is a given for recreational and commercial fishermen as well as anyone who loves the outdoors! Since most anglers identify their fish by reviewing illustrations rather than using scientific keys, the authors have succeeded in making fishing easier by providing superb illustrations and detailed diagnostics for fish identification. A valuable, one-stop reference tool for everyday anglers, fisheries experts, biologists, and outdoors writers, this guide includes intensively researched information on 207 species of saltwater fish, essential data on each species’ habitat, identification, typical size, and food value. By Jerald Horst & Mike Lane, illustrated by Duane Raver. 207 species. |
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| Other Names : | Red Grouper | | Range & Habitat : | This grouper is most common in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, becoming less common westward, until only stragglers are found west of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Within its range, it is found in 30 to 400 feet of water. The red grouper is not oriented towards high-profile bottom structure, but seems to prefer hard or rock bottoms encrusted with living organisms (live bottom). | | Identification & Biology : | The red grouper is a rusty-red or brownish-red color with lighter blotches and small white spots scattered on the sides. The second dorsal spine is the longest in the fin, and no notch exists in the fin membrane between the second and third spine. Like other groupers, the red grouper is a protogynous hermaphrodite. All begin their lives as females and at 18 to 26 inches long, they turn into males. Some begin spawning at the relatively early age of 4 years old. Maximum age is at least 25 years. Red grouper ambush their prey — crabs, shrimp, lobsters, squid, octopuses, and fishes. | | Size : | This fish will grow to 50 pounds, but most catches are 20 pounds or less. All the larger fish are males. | | Food Value : | Excellent. | | Description by: Jerald Horst, Associate Professor, Fisheries - LSU AgCenter |
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