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Research Article · Volume 8, Issue 11, Pages 1161–1169, 8 September 2020 · Open Access

Diversity and Current Status of Grouper Fish, Epinephelus Bloch, 1793 in Indian Coastal Waters

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Advances in Animal and Veterinary Sciences
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8 September 2020
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From the article

  • The present study provides a complete checklist of Epinephelus species reported from Indian coastal waters.
  • However, Fish Base (http://www.fishbase.org/) has shown only 38 species, including E. multinotatus which was not reported in Indian waters.
  • Hence, the database of FishBase needs to be revised and updated to 47 species.
  • Despite their importance for commercial fisheries, aquarium trade, aquaculture and coral reefs, these species are highly threatened by overexploitation, bycatch, and habitat loss due to degradation of coral reefs and the possible effects of climate change.

Selected from the article's own text.

Abstract

Darwin Chatla, Padmavathi Pamulapati*

Department of Zoology and Aquaculture, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar -522510, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Abstract | The grouper fish, Epinephelus Bloch, 1793 represents an iconic genus of the family Serranidae and order Perciformes. They are highly-prized food fishes intended for subsistence, artisanal, recreational and commercial fisheries throughout their geographic range. Despite their economic importance, the status of grouper fishes has been increasingly imperiled through overfishing activities. The conservation efforts have also been constrained with this highly skewed Epinephelus. Hence, in order to save this esteemed resource, effective conservation and rehabilitation strategies need to be planned and implemented in the country. However, it requires the knowledge of the current status of grouper fish diversity which is not yet carried comprehensively. Hence this study was proposed to review the systematic study of the genus Epinephelus to fill the gaps in diversity studies of India. The study also documented the present IUCN status of the listed species of Epinephelus under different categories of conservation status.

Keywords | Conservation, Distribution, Diversity, Epinephelus, Groupers 

INTRODUCTION

India is one of the twelve megadiverse nations in the world and well known for its biodiversity richness with a distinctive biogeographic marine ecoregion . The Indian coastline (7517 km) with different coastal ecosystems supports rich diverse resources having considerable economic importance. The marine diverse resources represent half of all extant vertebrates with an estimation of 2443 (75.6%) valid species . In recent decades, there has been a massive development of the fisheries sector in the Indian waters. The vessels now extend their trawling operations into deeper waters, catching more varieties of demersal fishes including groupers. Grouper landings have been continuously increasing during the last decade (2009-2018) with an average of 37970 tonnes and are shown in Figure 1. The highest landings of 53924 tonnes in 2017 and the lowest of 17606 tonnes were observed in 2009. In 2018 the landings have been accounted for about 51433 tonnes . However, species-specific landing data were not reported for the grouper species. Because of this low degree of resolution, 61% of grouper landings are reported as “groupers nei” in FAO (2016) database. Concurrent with the increase in landings and production of groupers, there may be a chance of overexploitation and some species on the threat of extinction.

Grouper fishes are cosmopolitan, occurring in tropical and subtropical areas . This highly diverse fish group plays a significant role in the coral reef ecosystem as regulators of the structure and composition of communities and forms an important link in the food chain . The groupers are top predators, sedentary and usually sluggish in movement, slow growing and long-lived . They have white, tender and tasty meat, and commands a high price in the market. Moreover, many species have been prioritized as potential species for aquaculture ; . Small grouper species are highly valued in the aquarium trade and remain as one of the valuable fishery resources along the coasts of India. These features attracted many enthusiastic researchers ; .

Figure 1: Trend of Grouper fish landings in India (2009-2018) (Source: CMFRI).

Over the past decade, a number of articles published on various aspects of Epinephelus species (Figure 2). In India, only 318 articles are published to an estimated 3386 articles worldwide. Thus, inspite of their commercial importance, the work done so far on Epinephelus species in India is scarce.

Figure 2: Number of articles published on Epinephelus in the last decade from India vs. world (Source: Science Direct, April 2020).

A perusal of the literature shows that these fishes are being subjected to intense fishing pressure for food, ornamental display and medicinal purposes globally ; . The loss of groupers can have a serious effect on local ecosystems since these fishes play an important role in the structure of rocky bottom and coral reef communities . In spite of their commercial importance, the status of grouper fishes has been threatened by overexploitation. As a result, certain species of groupers have become a matter of serious concern. Hence, comprehensive information on the current status of grouper diversity is a prerequisite for efficient management and to formulate the steps to be taken to protect these fishes towards sustainable exploitation. Hence the present study was aimed to manifest the diversity and current status of Epinephelus in Indian coastal waters by reviewing the studies carried so far on the diversity and distribution of this fish. The Conservation status of Epinephelus species under different categories was also documented.

Diversity and Distribution of groupers, Epinephelus

Grouper fishes of the Family Serranidae (Order: Perciformes; Class: Actinopterygii) are represented by 16 genera and 163 species with world-wide distribution. According to FishBase, around 54 species of the sub-family, Epinephelinae and 38 species of the genus, Epinephelus have been reported from the Indian waters . Groupers inhabit a wide variety of habitats, mainly coral reefs, rocky areas, seagrass beds, and estuaries ; . They exhibit a wide variety of reproductive and growth strategies . Epinephelus species are regularly landed by subsistence, artisanal, and commercial fisheries throughout their geographic range. A significant number of studies have been carried on the diversity of groupers, Epinephelus in various ecosystems of the Indian coastal waters and are presented in Table 1.

Figure 3: Species richness against the length of the coastline of all coastal states and union territories

Data on the distribution of Indian groupers were collected from twelve coastal states and union territories of India (Figure 3) which revealed the presence of 47 species of Epinephelus in Indian waters (Table 2). The species richness against the length of the coast of all states and union territories is presented in Figure 3. The east coast represents 76.59% with 36 species, while the west coast

Table 1: Diversity studies on Epinephelus species in Indian coastal waters.

S. No. State Location Reference
1 Gujarat Location not mentioned

Major coastal states of Gujarat

Gulf of Kachchh

Veraval

;

2 Maharashtra Location not mentioned

Major fish landing centres of Maharashtra

Sassoon Dock

Mumbai Coast

3 Goa Grand Island

;

4 Karnataka Natrani Island

;

Major fish landing centres of Karnataka

Mangalore, Karnataka

5

Kerala

 Location not mentioned

Ponnani estuary, Kerala

Neendakara, Sakthikulangara, Munambam, Ponnani, Puthiyappa, and Azheekkal of Kerala

Biju and Deepthi, 2009
Vizhinjam

Cochin

;

Vizhinjam

Location not mentioned

Mulloor, Vizhinjam, Kovalam, Thirumullavram of South Kerala

6 Tamil Nadu Parangipettai

Location not mentioned

Chennai metropolitan city limits (extending from Ennore in the north to Thiruvanmiyur in the south) Chennai

Melakkal and Muttom

All coastal districts (10) Tamilnadu

Mandapam and Keelakkarai

Cuddalore and Parangipettai

Nagapattinam

Wadge bank, Kanyakumari

Pulicat

Estuarine wetlands of Tamil Nadu

Cuddalore, Parangipettai, and Nallavadu

Tuticorin, Southeast coast of India

Gulf of mannar

; ;

Thoothukudi Coast, Gulf of mannar

Pamban, Gulf of mannar

Keelakari, Gulf of mannar

Mandapam

Thoothukudi

7 Pondicherry Pondicherry and Karaikal

8 Andhra Pradesh Major landing stations of Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam

; ; ;

9 Orissa Odisha

Chilaka

S. No. State Location Reference
10 West Bengal Digha

; , 2017
Digha, Digha Mohana, Shankarpur, Petuaghat, Sagar, Fresergunge, Namkhana, Kakdwip and Diamond Harbour of West Bengal coast

Digha Mohona

11

Lakshadweep

Islands

 Lakshadweep

; ;

Minicoy Island

12 Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andaman and Nicobar

; , 2015; Rajan et al., 2013; ; ;

represents 57.44% with 27 species. The Andaman and Nicobar islands represent 70.21% of grouper diversity with a maximum number of 33 species, followed by Tamil Nadu (68.08%) with 32 species, Kerala (53.19%) with 25 species, Andhra Pradesh (42.55%) with 20 species, Karnataka (38.29%) with 18 species, Maharashtra 38.29% with 18 species, Lakshadweep (34.04%) with 16 species, West Bengal (29.78%) 14 species, Gujarat (29.78%) with 14 species, Orissa (17.02%) with 8 species, Goa (8.51%) with 4 species and Puducherry (6.38%) with 3 species.

Regarding species distribution (Table 2), E. coioides was recorded as a dominant species in all coastal states except Puducherry. Similarly, E. malabaricus was identified as the second most widely distributed species in the coastal waters of 10 out of 12 states and union territories in India. Considering the distribution of species from the west coast, E. coioides, E. diacanthus, and E. erythrurus were abundant in all reported stations, while E. areolatus, E. chlorostigma, E. fasciatus, E. fuscoguttatus, E. latifasciatus, and E. malabaricus are dominant in all stations, except Goa. Along the east coast, E. lanceolatus and E. malabaricus were reported in all stations, while E. bleekeri, E. coioides, E. latifasciatus and E. tauvina were found in all stations except Puducherry. The distribution of some rare species was confined to particular regions of the east coast such as E. corallicola (Tamil Nadu), E. fasciatomaculosus (Tamil Nadu), E. hata (Andhra Pradesh), E. magniscuttis (Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal), E. marginatus (Andhra Pradesh), E. melanostigma (Tamil Nadu), E. miliaris (Tamil Nadu), E. poecilonotus (Tamil Nadu), E. retouti (Tamil Nadu), E. rivulatus (Tamil Nadu) and E. sexfasciatus (Tamil Nadu and West Bengal), whereas E. bontoides (Kerala), E. chabaudi (Karnataka and Kerala), E. stoliczkae (Maharastra and Karnataka) and E. Tukula (Goa and Maharastra) were restricted to the west coast of India. In addition to these mainland coastal water species, some species such as E. amblycephalus, E. macrospilos and E. polystigma are reported only from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while E. ongus and E. spilotoceps were recorded from both Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India.

It is evident that among the 47 Epinephelus species registered in India, 40 are commercial, while the remaining species are used for aquaria, game/sport fishery, subsistence fisheries and aquaculture (Table 2). In India, rearing of groupers in brackish water aquaculture is a relatively new development as a diversification option in pond and cage culture farms and is still in R and D phase. Certain behavioral characteristics with a high degree of territoriality and site specificity are making the groupers at risk and easy targets for fishermen ; ; . In this context, groupers are emerged as a particularly vulnerable group of fishes (Ranjan, 2015). The apparent vulnerability of the giant grouper, E. lanceolatus of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is protected under schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Regarding the conservation status as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, out of 47 Epinephelus species reported from Indian coastal waters, 41 species (87.23%) are marked as Least Concern (LC) and 3 species (6.38%) each as Vulnerable (VU) and Data deficient (DD) (Table 2 and Figure 4).

Figure 4: IUCN Status of Epinephelus species in Indian coastal waters.

Table 2: A comprehensive list and distribution status of extant Grouper (Epinephelus spp.) in Indian coastal waters.

S. No. Species name Common name F States/ Union Territories IUCN status Threat to humans Use/Trade
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1

Epinephelus amblycephalus (Bleeker, 1857)

 Banded grouper                         + LC Harmless Minor commercial
2

E. areolatus (Forsskål, 1775)

 Areolate grouper + + +   + + +   +   +   + LC Harmless Commercial, aquaculture
3

E. bleekeri (Vaillant, 1878)

 Duskytail grouper +   +   + + +   + + + + + DD Harmless Minor commercial, aquaculture
4

E. bontoides (Bleeker, 1855)

 Palemargin grouper           +               LC Harmless Of no interest
5

E. chabaudi (Castelnau, 1861)

 Moustache grouper +       + +               LC Harmless commercial
6

E. chlorostigma (Valenciennes, 1828)

 Brownspotted grouper + + +   + + +   +       + LC Harmless commercial
7

E. coeruleopunctatus (Bloch, 1790)

 Whitespotted grouper +   +      + +   +   + + + LC Harmless Minor commercial
8

E. coioides (Hamilton, 1822)

 Orange-spotted grouper + + + + + + +   + + + + + LC Harmless Commercial, aquaculture
9

E. corallicola (Valenciennes, 1828)

 Coral grouper +           +         + + LC Harmless Subsistence fisheries
10

E. diacanthus (Valenciennes, 1828)

 Spinycheek grouper + + + + + + +   + +       LC Harmless commercial
11

E. epistictus (Temminck and Schlegel, 1842)

 Dotted grouper +   +   + +     +       + LC Harmless Minor commercial
12

E. erythrurus (Valenciennes, 1828)

 Cloudy grouper + + + + + +     +   +   + LC Harmless Minor commercial
13

E. fasciatomaculosus (Peters, 1865)

 Rock grouper             +             LC Harmless commercial
14

E. fasciatus (Forsskål, 1775)

 Blacktip grouper + +  +   + + +       + + + LC Ciguatera poisoning Commercial, gamefish,
15

E. faveatus (Valenciennes, 1828)

 Barred-chest grouper +       + + +           + LC Harmless commercial
16

E. flavocaeruleus (Lacepède, 1802)

 Blue-and-yellow grouper +         + +         + + LC Harmless Commercial, aquarium
17

E. fuscoguttatus (Forsskål, 1775)

 Brown-marbled grouper + + +   + + +         + + VU Ciguatera poisoning Minor commercial, gamefish,
18

E. hata (=E.heniochus) Fowler, 1904

 Bridled grouper                 +       + LC Harmless commercial
19

E. hexagonatus (Forster, 1801)

 Starspotted grouper +          + +   +     + + LC Harmless Minor commercial, gamefish
20

E. lanceolatus (Bloch, 1790)

 Gaint grouper + + +   +   + + + + +   + DD Traumatogenic Commercial, aquaculture
21

E. latifasciatus (Temminck and Schlegel, 1842)

 Striped grouper + + +   + + +   + + +     LC Harmless commercial
22

E. longispinis (Kner, 1864)

 Longspine grouper + +     + + +   +   + + + LC Harmless commercial
23

E. macrospilos (Bleeker, 1855)

 Snubnose grouper +                       + LC Harmless Commercial
24

E. maculatus (Bloch, 1790)

 Highfin grouper +         + +             LC Ciguatera poisoning Minor commercial, aquarium
25

E. magniscuttis Postel, Fourmanoir and Guézé, 1963

 Speckled grouper                 +   +     LC Harmless Commercial
26

E. malabaricus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801)

 Malabar grouper + + +   + + + + + + +   + LC Harmless Highly commercial, aquaculture
27

E. marginatus (Lowe, 1834)

 Dusky grouper +               +         VU Harmless Highly Commercial, gamefish
S. No. Species name Common name F States/ Union Territories IUCN status Threat to humans Use/Trade
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
28

E. melanostigma Schultz, 1953

 One-blotch grouper +           +         + + LC Ciguatera poisoning Subsistence fisheries
29

E. merra Bloch, 1793

 Honeycomb grouper + +       + +         + + LC Ciguatera poisoning Commercial, aquaculture,
30

E. miliaris (Valenciennes, 1830)

 Netfin grouper             +           + LC Harmless Minor Commercial
31

E. morrhua (Valenciennes, 1833)

 Comet grouper +   +      + +   + +   +   LC Ciguatera poisoning Minor commercial, gamefish
32

E. multinotatus (Peters, 1876)

 White-blotched grouper +                         LC Harmless Commercial
33

E. ongus (summana) (Bloch, 1790)

 White-streaked grouper +                     + + LC Harmless Minor commercial
34

E. poecilonotus (Temminck and Schlegel, 1842)

 Dot-dash grouper +           +             LC Harmless Subsistence fisheries
35

E. polylepis Randall and Heemstra, 1991

 Smallscaled grouper + + +   +                 LC Harmless Commercial
36

E. polyphekadion (Bleeker, 1849)

 Camouflage grouper +           +         + + VU Ciguatera poisoning Commercial, aquaculture
37

E. polystigma (Bleeker, 1853)

 White-dotted grouper                         + LC Harmless Subsistence fisheries
38

E. quoyanus (Valenciennes, 1830)

 Longfin gouper +           +           + LC Ciguatera poisoning Commercial
39

E. radiatus (Day, 1868)

 Oblique-banded grouper +         + +   +   +   + LC Harmless Minor commercial
40

E. retouti Bleeker, 1868

 Red-tipped grouper             +             LC Harmless Subsistence fisheries, gamefish
41

E. rivulatus (Valenciennes, 1830)

 Halfmoon grouper +           +             LC Harmless Minor commercial
42

E. sexfasciatus (Valenciennes, 1828)

 Sixbar grouper             +       +   + LC Harmless Commercial
43

E. spilotoceps Schultz, 1953

 Foursaddle grouper +                     + + LC Harmless Commercial, gamefish
44

E. stoliczkae (Day, 1875)

 Epaulet grouper +   +   +                 LC Harmless Minor commercial
45

E. tauvina (Forsskål, 1775)

 Greasy grouper + +       + +   + + + + + DD Ciguatera poisoning Minor commercial, aquaculture
46

E. tukula (Morgans, 1959)

 Potato grouper +   + +   +             + LC Harmless Subsistence fisheries, gamefish
47

E. undulosus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824)

 Wavy-lined grouper +   +   + + + + +       + LC Harmless Minor commercial


*F: FishBase; 1: Gujarat; 2: Maharastra; 3: Goa; 4: Karnataka; 5: Kerala; 6: Tamil Nadu; 7: Puducherry; 8: Andhra Pradesh; 9: Orissa; 10: West Bengal; 11: Lakshadweep and 12: Andaman and Nicobar.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The present study provides a complete checklist of Epinephelus species reported from Indian coastal waters. So far 47 species of Epinephelus have been reported. However, Fish Base (http://www.fishbase.org/) has shown only 38 species, including E. multinotatus which was not reported in Indian waters. Hence, the database of FishBase needs to be revised and updated to 47 species. Despite their importance for commercial fisheries, aquarium trade, aquaculture and coral reefs, these species are highly threatened by overexploitation, bycatch, and habitat loss due to degradation of coral reefs and the possible effects of climate change. These factors are also impacting the species biodiversity. To conserve these species, it is necessary to implement ecosystem-based management practices. Therefore, the following steps could be taken to improve the conservation of Epinephelus species along the coastal waters of India and elsewhere: (i) collection of landing station-wise data from commercial, bycatch, ornamental and recreational catches; (ii) genetic diversity studies to overcome taxonomic ambiguities (iii) identification of the nutrient profile and consideration of the minimum catch size to avoid depletion of the stock in future; (iv) integrated knowledge about the social, biophysical and ecological aspects of Epinephelus in a sustainable way; (v) increase efforts on education and conservation awareness in coastal tourism and communities; and, most importantly, (vi) creation of networks for marine reserves in priority conservation areas, protecting key species and habitats for their survival. This will not only pave the way for better protection of Epinephelus diversity but will also help maintain harmony in the marine community.

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTION

Both the authors contributed equally.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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