Nassau grouper in the Exumas: closed season, status and the Exuma Park no-take rule

The Nassau grouper is a reef fish that BNT calls a valuable fisheries resource, and the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park is one place where nobody is allowed to take it. The rule that matters most for visitors comes first below. The closed season, spawning and conservation status follow.

Can you fish for Nassau grouper in Exuma Park?

No. Fishing is banned inside the park all year, not only in the grouper closed season.

Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park is a NO TAKE ZONE: no fishing, conching, shelling or lobstering – nothing living or dead may be removed from within the boundaries of Exuma Park¹.

There are fines and confiscation of vessels for poaching violations¹. To report suspicious activity, call “Exuma Park” on VHF channel 09⁶. The no-take zone guide and the park rules cover the rule in full. Wikipedia reports that overfishing has caused many commercial species to show large declines, but the park still has a healthy breeding population of conch, grouper and lobster⁵.

When is the Nassau grouper closed season in the Bahamas?

BNT’s 2008 fact sheet urges readers to support the closed season for grouper during the designated dates, December to February². Wikipedia describes the same ban: fishing for Nassau grouper is banned from December to February³. Check the Department of Marine Resources for the current season before you fish anywhere outside the park.

Groupers spawn around the full moon during late December or early January, after the seawater has begun to cool². Spawning continues for several days after the full moon².

How big is the Nassau grouper and where does it live?

The Nassau grouper can grow to 1 to 2 feet long and can reach a maximum of 4 feet, weighing 15 pounds or more². It may live for more than 25 years and is rarely found deeper than 90 feet². BNT calls it a valuable fisheries resource and an important part of the coral reef community².

It lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and around the Caribbean Sea, from Bermuda, Florida and the Bahamas in the north to the eastern coast of Venezuela³.

Why does spawning matter so much?

Groupers gather around banks by the thousands to spawn². Of the million or so eggs released by each female, less than 1% will live and grow into adults². Eggs are externally fertilized, with at least one female and multiple males taking part in each spawning event⁴.

Historically, some Nassau grouper spawning aggregations may have hosted upwards of 100,000 individuals⁴. Because the spawning areas are easily targeted for fishing, fishing there tends to remove the reproductively active members of the group³. BNT says groupers at these sites are susceptible to overfishing and asks that spawning aggregation sites be protected².

Nassau groupers can begin life as female and then switch to male². In heavily fished areas there are often three or more times more females than males².

Is the Nassau grouper endangered?

Wikipedia reports that the IUCN lists the Nassau grouper as critically endangered, due to commercial and recreational fishing and reef destruction³. An estimated third or more of spawning aggregations have disappeared, and the grouper is considered commercially extinct in some areas³. Its numbers have been sharply reduced by overfishing, and it is a slow breeder³.

BNT’s sheet names the main threat: people are fishing groupers before they can grow to maturity and reproduce². It calls for marine parks and reserves where fishing for grouper is prohibited². There is also a strong local market for the Nassau grouper².

Can protection bring the grouper back?

A 2020 study in the Cayman Islands says the Nassau grouper population on Little Cayman more than tripled over 15 years in response to conservation efforts⁴. Little Cayman is now home to the largest remaining identified Nassau grouper aggregation anywhere in the world⁴.

For the rest of the park’s wildlife, see the wildlife guide, the Bahamian hutia guide and the rock iguana guide.