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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™ Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) Table 1. A summary of population status and trends for Epinephelus striatus by country. Country Landings Aggregations Bermuda Severe declines beginning in 1980s. All crashed by 1981 and no recovery. Mexico Caribbean landings declined from 19,200 in 1998 to 4,000 kg in 2005 = 79% decline over 7 years. One disappeared in the Gulf in 1996 with no recovery; another disappeared in the Caribbean in early 1980s, at least two still remain. U.S.A. (continental) Fishing prohibited since 1992,; no quantitative data available. Declines, but no quantitative data available and no recovery observed. Bahamas Overfished by late 1990s; landings declined by 86% from 1997 to 2015 or 18 years. One very large aggregation disappeared between 1972 and 2013; another sometime prior to 2002; another reduced by an order of magnitude. Turks and Caicos Historically relatively low fishing pressure; population is stable. Stable. Cuba Landings declined after 1963 and collapsed in late 1970s; population decline over past 30 years suspected to be at least 80%. Only a few remained as of 2008. Dominican Republic Described as “severely depleted”, but no quantitative data available. Declines likely, but not well- understood. South America (continental) Populations naturally low compared to northern insular Caribbean. None reported. Belize Catch per unit effort (CPUE) declined significantly since sometime after the late 1960s. Most severely reduced with no recovery. Honduras and Nicaragua No landings data available, but imports to the U.S. and landings from the Bay Islands have declined since 1990s. Anecdotal information indicates declines in Honduras since at least 2003. Loss of at least one and others severely reduced. Lesser Antilles Catch is generally low; status is not well- known. Poorly understood. Jamaica Severe declines beginning in early 1980s, but no quantitative data available. Declines likely, but not well- understood. Country Landings Aggregations Cayman Islands Landings declined since 1996, but underwater surveys from 2003-2013 indicate the population remains relatively healthy. Three out of five overfished between 1987 and 2001, but some recovery occurring and at least one large remains stable. Puerto Rico Severe declines began in the 1980s, and landings collected from 1994-2011 show a 99% decline from 1998 to 2011 (13 years). Declines likely, but not well- understood. US Virgin Islands Fishery collapsed in late 1970s. All crashed by 1980s; some recovery may be occurring. Figure 1. Landings (in lbs) of Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) in Puerto Rico (1994-2011). Data sources: Puerto Rico government records (data collected by fisher interviews in a standardized format; annual landings from statistics of Dept. Natural Resources Laboratorio de Investigaciones Pesqueras); three reports from 2001-2011 (http://www.estadisticas.gobierno.pr/iepr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zVvxfuQ18K8%3d&tabi d=186); 1994-1997 data from http://proceedings.gcfi.org/sites/default/files/procs/gcfi_51- 15.pdf; 1998-2001 data from http://proceedings.gcfi.org/sites/default/files/procs/gcfi_55- 10.pdf.