Mossman Eats Cozumel Day Three

[Skittl1321]

I think there needs to be better efforts to educate people on the relationship of popular food to human health.

Pretty much all of it = bad for you

 

[cvchief]

I am rarely politically correct but in this instance I am. if I eat fish on a dive vacation it would be something that is plentiful including lionfish but Grouper? ya gotta be kidding........

1. Is is really grouper? in the US a full third of the fish is mislabeled. I might be convinced it is worse in MX. (See the BJ statue being IDed as Pancho Villa in the other thread) Yea, I get grouper guilt too, but is it REALLY grouper? One in three chance or better you don't need to feel guilty.

I agree, and avoid grouper and snapper on vacation or at home. I have actually read trip reviews where someone dissed an island due to poor coral health and/or few large fish on the reef but then wrote about having grouper for their meals while there. I think there needs to better efforts to educate people on the relationship of popular food fish to reef health.

2. Isn't Red Snapper OFF the avoid list? Come on, I like snapper.

Oh and Kondesa was serving Sea Bass in May. Is that some kind of sea slug crap fish that they gave a makeover to? It was FABULOUS....

 

[Mossman]

1. Is is really grouper? in the US a full third of the fish is mislabeled. I might be convinced it is worse in MX. (See the BJ statue being IDed as Pancho Villa in the other thread) Yea, I get grouper guilt too, but is it REALLY grouper? One in three chance or better you don't need to feel guilty.

Red grouper is sustainably fished. I didn't ask what color it was, but I'll assume it was red grouper to assuage my terrible guilt.

 

[jd950]

Don't worry about it Mossman, I had no delusions that you would care, or have anything useful to say about the issue. Perhaps someone else will give some thought to the idea or do some research on the question.

 

[dflaher]

...it's a shame a fine establishment like Sorrisi wasn't packed to the gills with other dive-hungry diners.

I will be helping that situation out next week, as I am staying at the Bahia as well. Thanks for the review, Mossman!

 

[chillyinCanada]

Don't worry about it Mossman, I had no delusions that you would care, or have anything useful to say about the issue. Perhaps someone else will give some thought to the idea or do some research on the question.

Perhaps you could help us out with that by posting some links to start us on our way.

 

[Mossman]

Don't worry about it Mossman, I had no delusions that you would care, or have anything useful to say about the issue. Perhaps someone else will give some thought to the idea or do some research on the question.

I thought I was being very useful. For all those of you who boycott grouper, you can read my review to know what you're missing so you won't actually have to order it. I took the PC hit, sacrificed my integrity so you could take the high road and claim your moral superiority. Now don't you feel good about that?

 

[jd950]

I thought I was being very useful. For all those of you who boycott grouper, you can read my review to know what you're missing so you won't actually have to order it. I took the PC hit, sacrificed my integrity so you could take the high road and claim your moral superiority. Now don't you feel good about that?

You have issues, Greg. I hope you can get them sorted out some day.

chilly: Assuming your inquiry is legit (you never know on the Cozumel forum) and if you are actually interested, I would suggest an internet search for some combination of grouper-Caribbean-overfished and similar words. Look for studies done by legitimate research organizations. You might also want to look at information on the feeding and reproductive behavior of grouper. They often prey upon damselfish which are algae farmers. The damselfish actually do damage to coral by creating their little algae patches. This is not an issue normally, but without sufficient grouper, the damselfish population increases and the reef begins to suffer due to the resulting increase in algae patches. Grouper are very slow to mature and reproduce. Most grouper served in restaurants has likely not reached sexual maturity and therefore we are preventing the fish from replenishing their population before taking them out of the water.

One potential upside to the lionfish problem is that they are certainly preying on the damselfish now, but it is possible that they are not putting enough pressure on the damsels to make of for the absence of grouper; the lions are ambush predators that tend to hang out and wait for something to swim by while damsels tend to stay near their little algae patch. I have heard this is a proposed research study (I think at at F.I.U. in Florida) but I have no idea if it is going to happen or not. At least to me, this is an interesting subject, although I continue to spear and eat lionfish whenever possible.

As Mossman pointed out, there are actually successful programs that have increased the numbers of gag and red grouper in the southeast United States, but one problem is restaurants and stores frequently don't know or mislabel what they offer so when one orders or buys grouper you have no idea what you are getting. The product may be a sustainably harvested grouper, or a threatened species, or and Asian import containing chemicals you probably don't want to eat, or it could be hogfish, barracuda or any number of other fish.

It is a personal decision for each consumer to make. I prefer not to eat reef fish unless I can be sure of what I am eating and that it is not threatened or over-fished. Grouper (or what is labeled as grouper) remains a very popular fish to eat and that is unlikely to change soon. I feel it is appropriate to encourage people to be informed, especially divers who have a first-hand basis to appreciate the intricacies of marine life on the reef, but I completely respect each person's right to make their own dining choices.

If you really need help finding articles, send me a PM and I will round up some links for you.

 

[ronski101]

One of my favorite dives at Coz was Tormentos with a nice current and a pack of about 10 big groupers that would follow us along like puppy dogs.
According to the DM, they ALL got speared by poachers and the next time we came they were gone and ended up on some restaurant menu never to return. What a shame. Why did this happen? Cuz someone(s) saw an opportunity to make a quick buck spearing tame groupers at the expense of all us divers that go there to see the beautiful reefs and flora and fauna. It is easy to justify ones actions by pointing the finger at others and the world we live in. I like grouper too and lobster, etc. but I prefer to see it live underwater rather than on the dinner plate unless it is something that is plentiful. I prefer to be part of the solution and not part of the problem and avoid destroying my environment when I can. Shark fin soup anyone?????????

 

[chillyinCanada]

Jd950, thanks. Your thoughts and knowledge on this matter echo my own. but inasmuch as, you were trying to convince the grouper eaters (or what they are told is grouper), and encouraging those very eaters to do research, this being the internet, it's best to make it easy for people. So I'm pleased with how this turned out.