Merou

Grouper is a common name which designates several species of fish from the Serranidae family. Groupers live in warm and temperate seas (Indian Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean). There are over 100 species of groupers in the world. It can measure from 40 cm to more than 2.50m depending on the species. Despite its sinister appearance, the grouper is a harmless, even familiar, fish. They evolve on rocky bottoms and near coral reefs and up to 200m deep. They feed on fish, crustaceans or molluscs. Depending on the species, they can live in schools or alone, which is the case for most species. A grouper is always born female. Each individual has a hermaphrodite gland capable of producing female and then male gametes. Some groupers change sex during their lifetime in order, most likely, to respect reproductive balance. Some of them become males around the age of 12. The female lays up to 3 eggs per clutch. The fry grow rapidly in the water.
Observations conducted by Patrick Louisy in 1995 in the Cerbères-Banyuls reserve on Sec de Rédéris (as part of the GEM and the NATMAR program) have shown that groupers can change their color often, especially during the breeding season. So you can be sure you never see the same grouper in the same way.

here in Cozumel, the Grouper has a hunting technique of its own, it lands next to a nurse shark, and “mugs” its remains !!!