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Florida man catches oldest grouper fish, 50, in state records
MIAMI, Jan 14, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – You never know what you’ll get when you go
fishing in Florida. You might accidentally catch an alligator, a snake — or,
for one man, the oldest grouper on record.
Researchers estimate that the Warsaw grouper, caught in December, was 50
years old.
The fish is “the oldest sample collected for our ageing program,” the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Research Institute
said Friday in a Facebook post.
Biologists in the FWC Age and Growth Lab calculated the grouper’s age by
examining its otoliths, also known as “earstones,” which are hard calcium
structures located behind the brain in bony fish.
Otoliths allow scientists to estimate a fish’s age.
The FWC accompanied the post with a photograph of Jason Boyll, an amateur
fisherman from the southwestern Siesta Key who caught the 350-pound (160
kilograms) grouper.
In the photo, Boyll is standing next to his catch, which is taller than he
is.
Boyll caught the grouper off the west coast of Florida on December 29, at a
depth of 600 feet (182 meters), according to the FWC.
Warsaw groupers can weigh up to 570 pounds.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1023 hrs