Goliath Grouper

200 permits* available each year

Permits are non-transferable

Two permit categories:

• Category I: Allows harvest in all open areas, including Everglades National Park (ENP).
• Category II: Permit includes harvest allowance in open areas, but not Everglades National Park (ENP).        

Permit fees:

• Application: $10 non-refundable
• If awarded permit: $150 for Florida residents, $500 for non-residents
• There are no exemptions to the requirement to obtain a goliath harvest permit.  The permit is required for anglers who are otherwise exempt from the requirement to obtain a recreational saltwater fishing license. Goliath harvest permit holders must also possess a recreational saltwater fishing license. Visit our License Exemptions page to see if you are exempt from the requirement to possess a recreational saltwater fishing license
• *Unless exempt, a recreational saltwater fishing license is required in addition to a goliath harvest permit.
• For additional information about goliath harvest permit requirements and how to apply, please visit the Goliath Grouper Harvest Permit page.

Permits will be awarded by a random-draw lottery

Permit Application Dates: Oct. 1-15, each year

Permit lottery applications will be available online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com

Bag Limit: 1 fish per person during open season, with permit and tag

24” – 36” Total Length

Hook-and-line only

Non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks are required when using natural baits

Must possess and use a dehooking device when releasing any goliath that are not harvested

 Season: Open March 1 – May 31

Closed Areas: state waters of Martin County (including the St. Lucie River and its tributaries) south through the Atlantic coast of the Keys, Dry Tortugas National Park, and all federal waters.

Permitted harvesters must:

• Immediately apply a goliath tag to the lower jawbone of the harvested goliath
• Report goliath harvest data within 24 hours of harvest to the Commission’s online harvest reporting system, available at: https://GoOutdoorsFlorida.com and through the Fish|Hunt Florida app on Apple and Android devices.
• Report that no harvest occurred to the Commission’s harvest reporting system within 24 hours after the season closes if they do not harvest a goliath grouper.
• Provide a biological sample of harvested goliath grouper if required by the terms of the permit.

A giant of the grouper family, the goliath (formerly called jewfish) has brown or yellow mottling with small black spots on the head and fins, a large mouth with jawbones that extend well past its small eyes, and a rounded tail. It also has five dark body bands or stripes that are most visible on young goliath.

Goliath grouper is the largest of the Atlantic groupers. This giant can reach 800 pounds (455 kg) and over 8 feet (2 meters) in length. The Florida record is a 680-pound goliath grouper caught off Fernandina Beach in 1961. Prior to harvest being prohibited in 1990, the species had been targeted both commercially and recreationally since at least the late 1800s.

There are a number of factors that make goliath susceptible to overfishing, including declines in juvenile habitats, a tendency to gather in high numbers at predictable locations during spawning events, and being long lived. Goliath are also susceptible to large-scale mortality events, such as cold snaps and red tide blooms.

When not feeding or spawning, adult goliath groupers are generally solitary, sedentary, and territorial. Before goliath grouper reach full-size may be preyed upon by barracuda, king mackerel and moray eels as well as sandbar and hammerhead sharks. Once fully grown, large sharks are the goliath grouper's only natural predators.

Goliath grouper are relatively long-lived, with a maximum known age to be at least 37 years old.

Goliath grouper were historically found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, both coasts of Florida, and from the Gulf of Mexico down to the coasts of Brazil, and the Caribbean.

In waters off Florida, young goliath grouper spend up to 5-6 years in estuaries and mangrove habitats. Areas such as the Ten Thousand Islands in southwest Florida seem to be a center of abundance for juvenile goliath and may serve as critical nursery habitat. As they grow, goliath grouper move to shallow reefs, eventually joining adult populations offshore on shallow artificial and natural reefs. Adults seem to prefer habitat with high relief or structure such as overhangs, ledges, bridges, piers, and shipwrecks.

Goliath grouper are opportunistic predators and feed mostly on slow-moving, bottom-associated species. Calico crabs make up the majority of their diet, in addition to other invertebrate species and fish. Goliath grouper will occasionally feed on fish that are struggling on a fishing line, but they have not been shown to actively hunt down fast, free swimming fish, such as snappers and other groupers. Prey is ambushed, caught by a rapid expansion and opening of the mouth which allows prey to be sucked in and swallowed whole.

Reproductive maturity first occurs in fish 5 or 6 years of age (about 36 inches in length). Males mature at a smaller size (about 42 inches) and slightly younger age than females. Females first mature at 6-7 years of age and 47-53 inches in length. In the eastern Gulf, goliath grouper have been known to form spawning groups of 100 individuals or more. These groups occur at consistent sites such as wrecks, rock ledges and isolated patch reefs during July, August and September. Studies have shown fish may move up to 62 miles (100 km) from inshore reefs to these spawning sites. In southwest Florida, presumed courtship behavior has been observed during the full moon in August and September.