NASSAU GROUPER

Epinephelus striatus

Nassau Groupers are medium sized fish with a pale beige coloration and five dark brown vertical bars along their bodies, a large black blotch on the ventral side of their caudal fin, and a row of black spots behind their eyes. They can be found in coral reefs or on other hard structures such as rocks and ledges in Southern Florida, the Florida Keys, Bermuda, the Yucatan and the Caribbean Sea. Once the most common species of grouper in the United states and Bahamas, the Nassau Grouper quickly became scarce due to overexploitation, and are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.