Jewfish: anyone fish?

[BATMANs]

http://www.theforumlounge.com/man-sized-grouper-t12245.html

 

[SWIFTVISION]

 

[queenlives]

http://www.theforumlounge.com/man-sized-grouper-t12245.html

big fish!

back in the '70's i lived in the tampa bay area and used to fish for grouper off clearwater / north of clearwater... great tasting fish.

back in the late '80's, i was on a multi-day diving trip out of oxnard (so cal) in the channel islands. one evening on a night lobster dive as i was approaching the boat (an 80' rig) / beginning to work my back to the surface up from 50-60', i heard this unusual / strange "thrumming" sound but couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

coming up over a ledge, i could see the outline of the boat on the surface + the lights from the boat shining down to us... except in the middle of the light from the surface, there appeared to be a black hole. weird. as i swam closer to it, i found the black hole was a giant sea bass... and that was the source of the "thrumming" sound. as i got close to it, it seemed to be about the size of a volkswagen... though i'm sure it wasn't.

here's a pic i found online of a giant sea bass like the one i saw:

 

[NSX-Stalker]

I've seen a ton of those diving. They're very cool, especially when you get close and can get them to grunt at you. In Mexico I saw a couple that were as big as a large fridge.. probably over 800 lbs.

They are protected here now and the population is booming. Protection may have been lifted though, not sure. A diver I know kills them with a bangstick every chance he gets since they eat all the slipper lobster. No, I don't approve of what he does.

 

[Cairo94507]

They are protected here now and the population is booming. Protection may have been lifted though, not sure. A diver I know kills them with a bangstick every chance he gets since they eat all the slipper lobster. No, I don't approve of what he does.[/QUOTE]

I would drop a dime to Fish & Game with that little bit of information. I detest people who just ignore the laws and do what they want.

 

[docjohn]

The real question is, does anyone here know how the giant grouper got the nickname Jewfish?

 

[queenlives]

They are protected here now and the population is booming. Protection may have been lifted though, not sure. A diver I know kills them with a bangstick every chance he gets since they eat all the slipper lobster. No, I don't approve of what he does.

I would drop a dime to Fish & Game with that little bit of information. I detest people who just ignore the laws and do what they want.[/QUOTE]
+1

protected wildlife "resources" are protected for a reason. were it me, i would inform the diver-friend that the next time i witnessed or heard of him doing that, i would inform the wildlife law enforcement folks and let nature take its course.

 

[Ponyboy]

The real question is, does anyone here know how the giant grouper got the nickname Jewfish?

No idea. Do I want to know?

 

[BATMANs]

The real question is, does anyone here know how the giant grouper got the nickname Jewfish?

it has no foreskin?

 

[docjohn]

Nice try Batmans:tongue: but afaik mohel don't scuba dive!

 

[BATMANs]

Nice try Batmans:tongue: but afaik mohel don't scuba dive!

It was the fish that swallowed some man in the old testament for a few days and spat him out at the end?

Or was it the cheater fish when Jesus walked on water to get his apostles some sea food?

 

[docjohn]

It was the fish that swallowed some man in the old testament for a few days and spat him out at the end?

Or was it the cheater fish when Jesus walked on water to get his apostles some sea food?

Your first guess is closest, the man was Jonah.

 

[BATMANs]

It was a whale....

 

[Osiris_x11]

Ichthyology_101

The real question is, does anyone here know how the giant grouper got the nickname Jewfish?

Perhaps...

... It may not come directly from Judaism or Jews, but it does come from their cultural/religious practices. We first encounter the word in English in 1679: "The Jew fish crowds to be one of the first three of our most worthy Fish," wrote T. Trapham in his Discourse on the State of Health of Jamaica. It was only 18 years later that W. Dampier wrote "The Jew-fish is a very good Fish, and I judge so called by the English, because it hath Scales and Fins, therefore a clean Fish, according to the Levitical Law."

So based on Jewish dietary laws, Epinephelus itjara (and others), also known as the grouper, was fit for human consumption. The name jewfish was applied to several different species of fish, most belonging to the family Serranidae. These include Promicops guasa, Epinephelus nigritus, Megalops atlanticus, Aralichthys dentalus (all from the U.S. Atlantic coast), Stereolepis gigas (from the California coast), Polyprion americanus and Polyprion couchii (from the waters around Madeira), and Sciaena antarcitca and Glaucosoma hebraicum (from Australia).

Note that the last one, Glaucosoma hebraicum, contains the Latin adjective for "Hebrew".

Also, about 10years or so ago, the name "jewfish" was officially changed to "giant-grouper" in order not to offend. . .

 

[docjohn]

Nice work Osiris,there have been some who think incorrectly imo that the term was morphed from the spanish Junefish.The notion that the grouper was big enough to ingest Jonah is intriguing.

 

[BD]