The moment a Florida man captured a Goliath grouper, which are known to eat small sharks, has been immortalized on YouTube.
“Several cobia came up with the sharks. Josh hooked one of the cobia and fought it for several minutes. The cobia was being chased by a bull shark. Josh tightened the drag and palmed the spool, breaking off the cobia,” he added.
Then, the grouper appeared.
“After a struggle, the 200lb+ goliath grouper was boat side. The hook was removed and the grouper was quickly released. Josh started playing with the groupers and a monster goliath attacked the bonito on the rope (probably over 500lbs)!” he wrote.
The fishermen managed to get the grouper on the boat before it was quickly released.
But, “On some occasions, goliath grouper have been caught off the coast of New England in Massachusetts and Maine. In the eastern Atlantic Ocean, goliath grouper are found off the coast of Africa from the Congo to Senegal,” says NOAA.
“Threats to the species include commercial and recreational fishing, harmful algal blooms (red tide), and habitat loss,” says the NOAA website.
‘Just Sucked it In’
The moment a Goliath grouper eating a shark was captured on camera as shocked fishermen look on.“Watch this. You guys are going to freak out,” Jimmy Wheeler of the Everglades Fishing Company warned.
“That same grouper later swallowed a stingray — or manta ray,” Michelle added. “[Goliath groupers] have become a nuisance, according to a lot of fishermen. They’re eating everything.”
They can get to be 8 feet in length.