Warsaw grouper facts for kids
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The Warsaw grouper (scientific name: Hyporthodus nigritus) is a large fish that lives in the ocean. It's a type of grouper, which belongs to a family of fish called Serranidae. This family also includes fish like anthias and sea basses. You can find Warsaw groupers in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts all the way down to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, and Trinidad. They like to live in deep or shallow parts of the ocean, near coral reefs, or in areas with underwater plants.
The Warsaw grouper is a National Marine Fisheries Service "species of concern" in the United States. This means that experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service are worried about these fish. They think the species might be in trouble, but they don't have enough information yet to list it under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
What the Warsaw Grouper Looks Like
The Warsaw grouper is known as a deep-water grouper. This is because they usually live on reefs found on the edge of the continental shelf. This area is very deep, from about 180 to 1700 feet (55 to 525 meters) below the surface. Sometimes, young Warsaw groupers can be seen in shallower waters, like near jetties or reefs closer to shore.
These fish are special because they are the only grouper with 10 spines on their back fin. Their color can be dark reddish-brown, brownish-grey, or almost black on top. Their belly is usually a dull reddish-grey.
Warsaw groupers can grow to be very big, sometimes over 8 feet long! Scientists from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute studied a Warsaw grouper that weighed about 350 pounds. They found that this fish was over 50 years old. It was caught on December 29, 2019.
Protecting the Warsaw Grouper
The Warsaw grouper is facing threats, mainly from fishing. They can be caught by people fishing with hooks and lines, or by large fishing lines called bottom longlines. Sometimes, they are also caught by accident in fisheries that are trying to catch other deep-water fish like snapper. Most of these fish are caught in the Gulf of Mexico.
Another problem for them is "bycatch release mortality." This happens when fish are caught by accident and then released, but they don't survive because of the big change in water pressure from deep to shallow.
The IUCN has listed the Warsaw grouper as "Near Threatened." This means they are close to being considered threatened with extinction. The American Fisheries Society has listed them as "Endangered," which means they are at a very high risk of extinction.
See also
In Spanish: Epinephelus nigritus para niños
