Coral grouper

Photo: Ian Shaw · © all rights reserved

Coral grouper are vivid red-orange ambush predators that perch motionless on prominent coral heads, waiting for small fish to drift within striking range. At Chumbe they have become somewhat habituated to snorkellers and divers, allowing unusually close approach. They are important reef predators that regulate populations of small reef fish and invertebrates; their abundance at Chumbe is a direct consequence of the no-fishing rules.