More about the Specialist Group
Groupers and Wrasses and relatives are among the most highly valued of all reef-associated fishes. Many species are targeted heavily for human consumption in domestic and, increasingly international, trade for food and as marine ornamentals throughout much of their geographic ranges. Few grouper fisheries are effectively managed.
The aim of establishing this Specialist Group was to bring together a small, active, group of specialists, spanning biology, fisheries management, socio-economics, research and conservation, to understand more about their fisheries and conservation status and help to advance protective agendas. Many of the species are data-poor despite their importance for food and trade. Actions include a focus of attention on vulnerable life history stages, such as spawning aggregations or nursery areas, and promotion of measures to safeguard critical habitat and reproductive capacity. Ongoing species-specific work includes a focus on three threatened species: Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus; Goliath grouper, E. itajara, both of the tropical western Atlantic, and the CITES II listed Humphead (= Napoleon) wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, of the Indo-Pacific.
