A world-record yellowedge grouper was caught 70-miles off the coast of Virginia on the edge of Norfolk Canyon. According to fishbase, the yellowedge grouper (Epinephelus flavolimbatus) lives up to 35 years, has a low minimum population doubling time, and therefore is vulnerable to overfishing. Fishbase also notes that the yellowedge grouper is a solitary species, and it’s considered a good quality fish to eat. From The Virginian-Pilot, VA:
“At first, nobody knew exactly what it was,” said [Heath] Cataulin, 28, of Norfolk. “We knew it was a grouper, and it kind of looked like one of the snowies. But it didn’t have the white spots on it.”
The telltale sign was that many of the fish’s fins were edged in bright yellow.
On the ride back to port, Skip Feller, the boat’s captain, radioed the Virginia Beach Fishing Center and described the catch. Someone then notified Julie Ball, a Virginia International Game Fish Association representative.
Ball recommended that Cataulin get an accurate weight on the fishing center’s scales. She then made an appointment to meet Cataulin at Long Bay Pointe Marina the following morning.
There, the fish was certified as a yellowedge grouper and as a pending world all-tackle record.
Cataulin’s fish weighed 46 pounds, 2 ounces. The current world record is a 41-1 caught from the Gulf of Mexico in 1998. “It was huge,” Cataulin said. “It wouldn’t fit in anybody’s cooler. We ended up putting it in the boat’s big ice chest.”
On the Net:
FishBase
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What is the record grouper weight caught in Mexico ? Anyone?