* Adult groupers, members of one of the largest families of fishes found in Florida waters, run the gamut of sizes and shapes. They range from the diminutive Graysby Grouper weighing a few pounds to the enormous Goliath Grouper that can top the scales at over 600 pounds.

* Red grouper is the most commercially landed and most thoroughly studied of the Florida groupers. Almost all of what scientists know about groupers is based on research on red Grouper.

* Groupers yield a high quantity of edible meat compared to their body weight. An 8-pound grouper, will produce more than 3 pounds of edible flesh.  

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* Because the Grouper meat has little oil and a fat content of only 1%, grouper are considered a lean fish.  

* Red grouper is the most abundant grouper in the Gulf of Mexico. Red groupers under about six years of age reside over shallow near shore reefs, moving into deeper waters as they mature.

* Grouper was once considered a by-product of the Florida red snapper fishery, but in recent years has soared in popularity among seafood consumers.

* Florida currently produces about 80% of all the grouper caught in the U.S.