Graduate students Michael Studivan and Courtney Klepac made training dives with FAU Harbor Branch Diving & Boating Safety Officer Jimmy Nelson to upgrade their depth certification as AAUS scientific divers to 100'. Diving on two shipwrecks out of Jupiter, FL, they completed a count of goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara). Goliath grouper can grow to more than eight feet in length and 800 pounds. From July through September, they converge at certain locations to spawn. Mike also removed two invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) from the dive site, probably thankful they do not grow as large as goliath grouper. (Text and video by HBOI Video Production Specialist Brian Cousin)
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