If you want to harvest Goliath grouper, the application process has just begun

Goliath grouper, which can grow as large as 800 pounds and 8 feet long, have been protected in Florida waters since 1990. That’s about to change.

Saturday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission began accepting applications from anglers who want to recreationally harvest the thick-bodied fish during the upcoming 2023 season.

The regulations are quite strict, and it will remain illegal to harvest the fish in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Regulations include the following:

• Permits and tags will be issued via a random-draw lottery, and are non-transferable.
• You can apply from Oct. 15 through Oct. 30.
• Permits cost $150 for residents and $500 for non-residents, plus fees.
• Each permit holder will be allowed one fish per season.
• Statewide, only 200 Goliath grouper will be harvested recreationally per year, with a maximum of 50 from Everglades National Park.
• The season runs from March 1 through May 31.
• Fish must be between 24 to 36 inches to keep.
• Hook-and-line is the only method of harvest — no spearfishing, and if you’re using natural bait, you must use a non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hook.
• If you harvest a Goliath, you must report harvest data online within 24 hours of the catch, and submit a fin clip for genetic analysis.
• Harvest is permitted in all state waters except those of Martin County south through Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties and the Atlantic coast of the Keys, as well as Dry Tortugas National Park and all of the St. Lucie River and its tributaries.
• No harvest allowed in federal waters.

Goliath grouper have been around for million years, and have a current Atlantic range from Brazil to Florida and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, and along the west coast of Africa, though the population is dwindling there.

When young, they live in the shallows, using mangrove shorelines as ambush hideouts, then move nearshore to legends and bridge pilings, or offshore to reefs and wrecks in water as deep at 150 feet.

According to the FWC, they prey on slower-moving bottom species such as calico crabs, spiny lobsters, shrimp and octopus as well as stingrays and parrotfish.

They even feed on young sea turtles, and will gulp down fish struggling on the end of anglers’ lines. Extremely large goliaths have been known to stalk divers, though it’s unclear if that behavior is territorial or predatory.

[ For the first time in 30 years, fishing for goliath grouper will be allowed in Florida ]

The largest Goliath ever caught in Florida weighed 680 pounds and was reeled in off Fernandina Beach, just north of Jacksonville, in 1961.

Goliaths were valuable both commercially and as a sportfish, but struggled in the 20th century because of several factors. Florida’s development eradicated much of the mangrove shorelines they rely upon when young.

Also, their relatively shallow habitat and their bold, sometimes curious demeanor makes them easy targets for spear fishers. Additionally, they reproduce slowly and the population has taken hits due to cold snaps and red tide.

By the 1980s, their population was so decimated that the federal government stepped in, protecting them from harvest.

As a result, the FWC feels that Florida populations have made a slow comeback.

Anglers catch juveniles in estuaries and monstrous adults off bridge pilings and release them. Adult fish have become superstars of the recreational dive industry on Florida’s east coast.

Some consider them a nuisance, though.

“It’s’ become more and more of an issue over last 20 to 25 years,” said Capt. Billy Delph, of DelphFishing, who runs out of Key West and often takes customers to the Dry Tortugas.

“Every five years it’s drastically different than the previous five years,” he said. “Even in the deep water, I’m talking 200-300 feet. Years ago I don’t remember seeing them very often out there.”

He says customers lose red snapper, mutton snapper, black grouper and cobia to the lurking Goliaths.

“It’s kind of a nuisance because you’ve got the sharks to deal with, you’re fighting fish in deep water, and on top of that, you’ve got those guys grabbing everything.

“Just like the sharks, it’s a learned behavior,” claims Delph. “There’s boats out there often enough that they know the dinner bell is gonna ring when you pull up.”

[ Video: Goliath Grouper eats shark in one bite ]

The dive industry, an important economic driver in the region, is much more fond of the Goliaths.

According to FWC spokesperson Emily Abellera, part of the rationale for not allowing harvest on the Atlantic coast of Southeast Florida was to “balance harvest opportunities with existing ecotourism and dive viewing activities focused on Goliath in Southeast Florida.”

Additionally, “locations off Martin and Palm Beach counties are also the only known Goliath spawning aggregation sites that occur in state waters,” Abellera said.

The three-month spring season, which runs from March 1 through May 31, ensures the harvest does not put additional pressure on Goliath grouper when they may be susceptible to red tide events in the summer and fall, and also avoids overlap with the spawning season in summer, the FWC said.

The truly huge adult fish — the ones the dive industry covets — are still protected, for several reasons.

“This slot limit prevents the removal of reproductive adults from the population,” Abellera said, “while allowing for harvest of a desirable fish with less concerns regarding mercury levels.”

According to the EPA, methylmercury is a neurotoxin that can be especially harmful to fetuses, impacting cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, fine motor skills, and visual spatial skills.

Additionally, Goliath within the slot limit tend to live in shallow, nearshore environments where they’re less likely to experience barotrauma.

“Long-term rebuilding of a stock requires the rebuilding of fish in older age classes,” Abellera said. “This slot limit is consistent with FWC’s management goals for goliath to increase adult densities on natural reefs and expand the presence of older age classes.”

Will the regulations change in the future? The FWC is holding their cards to their chest.

“This harvest will provide genetic and population information to help monitor the status of this important grouper,” Abellera said. “We are not currently considering additional regulation changes related to the goliath harvest program.”