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John Dodrill et al. 
speckled hind per ha in the vicinity of boulders at a depth of 125 
to 137 m. Nearly all snowy grouper were over and immediately 
around the reef. However, some snowy grouper (24/ha), red porgy 
(660/ha), and silk snapper ( Lutjanus vivanus ) (Cuvier) (36/ha), were 
observed by day off to the side of the reef rooting in the sand, 
possibly for food (Parker and Ross 1986). 
Longlines, which are not set directly on reefs, have been used 
extentively in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and in the northern 
Gulf of Mexico since 1980. Snowy grouper represent part of the 
longline catch and thus might move short distances off the reef to 
take a bait. Also, an examination of decapod prey substrate prefer- 
ences, as discussed previously, suggests that grouper might wander 
a short distance from hard bottom areas in search of food. 
Feeding ■ Association with the Bottom — Although our study 
indicates that snowy grouper feed both in the water column and on 
the bottom, grouper were always caught on or very near the sub- 
strate. Even in the cast of large aggregations of grouper, fish were 
hooked no more than 3-4 m above the bottom. When currents lifted 
baits higher than this, no fish were caught. Identifiable markings of 
snowy grouper on the depth recorded were very close to the bot- 
tom. Examination of data from a trawl tow off southern North 
Carolina where 544 kg of adult snowy grouper were collected (North 
Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Cruise Reports, R/V Dan 
Moore , Cruise Number 20, 1969) revealed fish to be so close to 
the bottom that depth recorder markings of the fish were barely 
discernible. 
Most snowy grouper foods are closely associated with the 
bottom. Even schooling fishes such as butterfish and red barbier, 
which can move up into midwater, as well as squids and portunid 
crabs, are commonly captured by bottom trawling. 
Feeding Mechanics — Virtually every prey item had been swal- 
lowed whole. Except when limb autotomy had taken place in the 
stomach or through subsequent handling on deck, most decapods 
were intact. On two occasions prey were found alive in grouper 
throats: a deepbody boarfish and a crab ( Myropsis guinguespinosa). 
Both were removed from grouper caught during daylight. 
The intact condition of most prey in the stomachs supports 
the general feeding pattern of other grouper observed in the field 
(see Parrish 1987). The grouper either maneuvers close to the prey 
or waits in ambush, then opens its large mouth and expands its gill 
plates so abruptly that the prey is sucked whole into the mouth. 
Prey size, Grouper Speed, and Sedentary Behavior — Prey size 
was surprisingly small for an adult fish as large as E. niveatus. 
