A grouper reaching over two metres and 300 kg, which gathers on Florida wrecks in late summer to spawn. Protected since 1990 after the population collapsed.
To about 2.5 m and over 300 kg, brown to olive with small dark spots and faint bars, a broad head, small eyes and a very large mouth. Nothing else in the western Atlantic reaches that size on a reef, so identification is not the problem.
The Florida wreck aggregations are what it is dived for. From about August to October the fish gather on wrecks off the south-east coast in tens, and a diver in mid-water above a wreck can find several dozen underneath. They produce a low boom with the swim bladder that is felt as much as heard, and they use it at divers who get close, which is a warning and should be taken as one — back off rather than pressing in. The species collapsed under fishing pressure and has been protected in United States waters since 1990; the population has recovered enough for a limited harvest to be argued about, and that argument is ongoing.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.
