Q - Queensland Grouper
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Meet Derek! Doesn’t his name suit him!? 😆 Queensland Groupers are the aquatic emblem of ...you guessed it!... Queensland! The Queensland Grouper is the largest bony fish found on coral reefs - they can grow to 9ft long & weigh up to 600kg, and they feed on a variety of marine life, including small sharks and turtles! Like other Grouper species, they change colour as they age, growing to be faintly mottled green, brown or grey, but they start life much more colourful! These giants can live up to 50 years! And, similar to the Napoleon Wrasse, Queensland Groupers are also protogynous hermaphrodites - meaning they’re born female and change into a male at some point during their lives! They’re listed as Vulnerable by IUCN. In Asia, eating Queensland Grouper is thought to “cure soul loss and to ease pain”, and so it is commonly found in their live fish markets. They are severely overfished, and it is usually juveniles that are caught; meaning they never get chance to reproduce, as they are late to mature. So, don’t eat them. Derek wouldn’t like it 🙂