Aquatic Dictionary.com - Epinephelus striatus defined

(Bloch 1792)

Nassau grouper, Mérou rayé, Cherna criolla, Nassau grouper, Hamlet, Negue, Jakupepu, Cherna criolla, Mero gallina, Granik siodlasty, Nassaunmeriahven

Species Details

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Scientific Name:	Epinephelus striatus
Family/Order/Class:	Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets) subFamily Epinephelinae / Perciformes / Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Common Name:	Nassau grouper

Distribution:	Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, Yucatan Peninsula and throughout the Caribbean to southern Brazil. Not known from the Gulf of Mexico except at the Campeche Bank off the coast of Yucatan, at Tortugas and off Key West.
Climate:	tropical; 35°N - 15°N
Environment:	reef-associated; marine; depth range 1 - 90 m
Description:	Occurs from the shoreline to at least 90 m depth. Usually close to caves (Ref. 9710). Juveniles are common in seagrass beds. Diet comprises mainly of fishes (54%) and crabs (23%) and lesser amounts of other crustaceans and mollusks. It is solitary and mainly diurnal; but may sometimes form schools. Spawns near the new moon with up to 30,000 aggregating at certain spawning sites (Ref. 9710). The least wary and most friendly of all the groupers (Ref. 5226). Heavily fished and vulnerable to overfishing, particularly when migrating or aggregating to spawn (Ref. 9710). The most important commercial grouper in the West Indies. Marketed fresh, mostly between 2 to 10 kg (Ref. 3708).

Reference: Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2004. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (05/2004) and Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall. 1993.

Epinephelus striatus is a Nassau grouper