Eastern blue groper

A big, friendly wrasse (not a grouper) with thick lips, big peg-like teeth and large scales. Adult males are bright cobalt blue; females and young are brown-green to reddish. NSW's state fish.

1½–2½ ft.

About 3 ft and around 40 lb.

Crabs, sea urchins, mussels, cunjevoi and other shellfish crushed with its strong teeth.

Curious and slow-growing, it lives on the same rocky reef for years and often swims right up to divers. Starts life female; the biggest become blue males.

Found from South-East Australia & Tasmania and Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef. Rocky reefs, kelp beds and rock platforms from southern Queensland to eastern Victoria; famous at Sydney's Shelly Beach and Clovelly.

Rocky reefs, kelp beds and rock platforms from southern Queensland to eastern Victoria; famous at Sydney's Shelly Beach and Clovelly.

3–130 ft.

Not targeted.

All year, but closed to line fishing in NSW.

Daylight hours, especially early morning and late afternoon.

Moving water: the hours around the tide change, when current pushes over the reef edges and bait gets swept along.

Stable weather with clean water; a few days of steady conditions beat a front coming through.

Not to be targeted. Accidental hookups on crab or cunjevoi baits must be released.

Not targeted.

Not targeted.

Not targeted; if hooked by accident, cut the line close to the hook if you can't remove it easily.

Not targeted.

Not targeted.

Watch it while snorkeling — it's one of the friendliest fish in Australia. If one is hooked by accident, release it at once.

Snorkel Cabbage Tree Bay (Shelly Beach, Manly) to swim with big blue gropers.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Do not keep — protected.

Protected — do not keep.

Strong teeth and a powerful bite — don't hand-feed them.

Recreational line fishing for eastern blue groper is banned in NSW (extended from March 2025 for three years), spearfishing and commercial take are banned, and it's protected in many marine parks. Release any fish caught by accident and check current rules. Each Australian state sets its own rules: NSW and Victoria require a recreational fishing licence in fresh and salt water, Western Australia needs a licence for boat fishing and freshwater angling, Tasmania for inland waters, and Queensland only for stocked impoundments; the Northern Territory needs none. Bag limits, size limits, closed seasons and marine park zones apply everywhere.

Slow-growing and easy to catch, so a few anglers or spearfishers can wipe out a reef's gropers. Leave them be.