Attempts to evaluate the data needed to assess the status of these depleted stocks and develop rebuilding plans present unique challenges. In March 2003, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the SEFSC convened a Stock Assessment Workshop, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Under the new SEDAR protocol, scientists, constituents, and managers evaluated the data available for a goliath grouper stock assessment. Discussion at the meeting highlighted the need for more age and growth work on adult goliath grouper populations.

Researchers Dr. Anne Marie Eklund, from the SEFSC; and Drs. Felicia Coleman and Chris Koenig, from Florida State University, are currently investigating goliath grouper biology and ecology, but are reluctant to sacrifice any of these protected animals in order to procure biological samples. Instead, they have developed novel methodologies for acquiring biological data on these fish. Recent analysis by biologists at both the National Marine Fisheries Service Miami and Panama City laboratories, for example, have determined that dorsal spines can be used to effectively age juvenile goliath groupers (age 0-6), instead of using otoliths (which require sacrificing the fish). However, they have not been able to extrapolate this relationship to adult populations because of the paucity of spine, ray and otolith samples.

Also during March, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission began reporting a moderately high red tide event in Lee and Collier Counties of Southwest Florida. Reports of manatee and turtle strandings began pouring into local and state agencies in the region, along with reports of large fish washing up on Southwest Florida beaches. Once these large fish were positively identified as goliath grouper, a team of biologists from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center set off to assess the red tide event, concentrating in the areas near Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

Over the course of two days, biologists Jennifer Schull and Veronique Koch sampled eleven large goliath grouper that had washed up near the Sanibel Island Causeway, ranging in size from 12 inches to a whopping 81 inches (almost 7 ft. in length)! These casualties, resulting from red tide, gave our biologists a unique opportunity to collect a multitude of biological samples, without having to sacrifice healthy animals. From these decomposing carcasses, biologists were able to record length for use in an age/length relationship, and were able to extract otoliths and remove dorsal spines and rays for comparison of hardparts in age and growth analysis. Tissue samples were also removed and sent to the Florida Marine Research Institute so they could evaluate the level of red tide toxin. The sampling trip gave these biologists an opportunity to educate the curious beach goers about red tide and goliath grouper (a few of which had been misidentified as baby manatees), culminating with a short segment on the local news. For more information on red tide, explore the FMRI website: http://www.floridamarine.org. Jennifer Schull, (305) 361-4204, jennifer.schull@noaa.gov; Anne Marie Eklund, (305) 361-4271, anne.marie.eklund@noaa.gov or Veronique Koch, (305) 361-4483, veronique.koch@noaa.gov