Two Very Special Goliath Grouper Night Dives Available During Peak Spawning Season!
Goliath groupers are a big deal, not only because of their size, but also for the number you can encounter at one time when they gather to spawn in the waters off Jupiter’s coast. This annual aggregation draws divers from around the globe and Jupiter Dive Center has dedicated goliath grouper day charters and two very special night charters during peak spawning season!
The Largest Atlantic Goliath Grouper spawning event occurs in Jupiter, Florida
Yes, you read that correctly. Goliath groupers swim to the waters off our coast to spawn between August and October every year.
Diving with even one goliath is an experience. Encountering upwards of sixty of them at one time? Incredible especially considering their history (more on that in a bit).
For those who may not be familiar with goliath groupers, they are the largest of their species.
To put their size in perspective, they can stretch the entire length of an eight-foot regulation size pool table and weigh in at a svelte 800 pounds!
You’d think that with something that large, you’d see them first. Not necessarily. Their vocalization is akin to a bark and can travel great distances. Depending on their proximity, the sound can resonate throughout your body. But don’t worry, goliaths are truly gentle giants.
Diving with Goliaths
Like many big fishes, goliaths take years to mature.
As adults, they abandon the mangroves they’d sheltered within for the first five years of their lives and move to the reefs or wrecks where divers are most likely to encounter them.
During aggregation, Jupiter Dive Center routinely visits the Wreck Trek,
A series of three wrecks the Zion Train, Miss Jenny, and The Esso Bonaire that in addition to groupers, draws in other large marine animals.
This is a deep dive that requires Advanced Open Water Certification and Nitrox.
Paired with the Wreck Trek during grouper aggregation is another wreck, the MG-111. While this river barge has seen better days, north of the wreck is an area known as Warrior Reef, which consists of a collection of concrete pillars that serves as a goliath playground. There, the large fish often gather in groups facing into the current.
If you are more interested in reefs rather than wrecks, consider Tunnels, a spectacular and very popular reef dive.
Several goliath groupers like to hang out by the first of the three tunnels, while several more can be found under a substantial ledge that divers will encounter near the 25-minute mark of their dive.
Special New Moon Night Dives
It may seem counterintuitive, but according to a study conducted by the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science of the University of Miami the best time to witness the goliath grouper spawning event is not when the moon is full, but rather shortly after dusk during the new moon phase.
We hope you’ll join us on August 12th and/or August 13th and be counted among the select few who have seen this event! As you can imagine, this 2-tank dive charter sells out quickly.
To guarantee your spot, we suggest booking your dive as soon as possible.
One thing to note: goliath groupers are ambush predators, swooping in, opening their large mouths, and swallowing their prey whole. On night dives, that means you might have a large fish materialize out of the darkness next to you with surprising speed often to swoop up the tasty morsel that your flashlight just illuminated. Opportunistic eaters, they are happy to let you do the hunting for them. They usually eat crabs and small fish and will be happy to eat any castoff lionfish left by divers day or night.
A STUNNING COMEBACK STORY Thanks in Part to Divers!
Since at least the late 1800s, their size made goliath groupers the target of both commercial and recreational fishermen. Improvements in fishing technology and habitat erosion lead to the decimation of their populations.
In 1994, the species was declared critically endangered, and the harvesting of groupers was prohibited in both state and federal waters.
Due to action taken by fishery management councils that prohibit the harvest of goliaths, their populations started to rebound, and in 2006, goliaths were removed from the government species of concern list. That improvement resulted in the Florida Wildlife Commissioners reexamining the feasibility of allowing limited harvesting of the large fishes in 2018. Thanks to the groundswell of opposition much of it provided by the dive community the commissioners chose not to pursue the initiative at that time.
Since then, however, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has instituted a limited Goliath Harvest Program. Fortunately, Jupiter, Florida falls within a prohibited fishing area established to protect the goliath’s spawning grounds.
Your Next Adventure
Jupiter Dive Center is ideally situated to make your dream of diving with goliath groupers during their spawning aggregation a reality! If you’re traveling for this destination dive, there is plenty of quality lodging in the area and dropping our name will score you a discount. We hope you’ll join us, so you too, can say you’ve been diving with the area’s gentlest giants. Are you ready? Call Jupiter Dive Center at 561-745-7807 and book your dive today.
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