The Amerindian indigenous peoples of Brazil call him "Itajara" - the Lord of the Rocks. In the U.S. he has gone by the name of Junefish, then jewfish and, now, politically pacified to Goliath grouper. But there is no pacifying him in the rocky lairs he calls home. Epinephesus itajara is the king of the grouper clan and wears the title of Lord well.

This is the largest of all groupers, a true giant in a sea full of behemoths. The International Gamefish Association All-Tackle Word Record is a whopping 616 pounds, huge for a grouper. But there are anecdotal accounts of commercially-caught or speared Goliaths, nee jewfish, of over 1,000 pounds. The awesome size of the fish, its status as a protected species and, what many believe to be a surprise comeback, are enough to make this a special fish. Then there is the thorny dilemma concerning his name.

Old time Florida Crackers began calling the animal Junefish back in the 1840s. They were called that because, unlike other groupers, these big animals come close to shore during the summer - often penetrating the estuary into freshwater environments. Northern sportsmen and women who came to Florida during the 19th Century could not understand the slow drawl of the crackers. So they misunderstood the name to mean jewfish. He wore that title against the test of time until about five years ago. The Hebrew culture had nothing to do with the original name. Those of Jewish descent were unheard of to the crackers of Old Florida. Yet that did not keep a group of politically correct zealots from finally lobbying the American Fisheries Society to change the name.

Ironically the society chose the protagonist of Judaism's greatest hero for the new name. Goliath he has been rechristened. To Florida anglers he will probably remain a jewfish and with no disrespect to those of the Hebrew faith.

"I was on a cruise just about the time the name change came about," jewfish expert Dr. Anne-Marie Ecklund said. "I had on a tee-shirt with our jewfish team logo on it when a nice young man from New York came up to me and just fell in love with the shirt. He did not know what a jewfish was but he wanted to get a shirt just like it for himself and one for his Rabbi also. So go figure."

Ecklund spent part of her early career sunning on the beaches of Anna Maria Island and learning to SCUBA dive off those shores in the mid-1980s. She went on to work for Mote Marine Laboratory and the Florida Marine Research Institute. Today Dr. Ecklund heads up a team that may be the best authority on jewfish in the world. As a fisheries research biologist for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Dr. Ecklund works with researchers from Florida State University and many similar efforts from other countries all with one goal - to learn about Itajara, to learn about the Lord.

Jewfish are not like other grouper. They were once placed in a separate genus from other grouper-like fish. But the vagaries of taxonomy now consider Goliaths in the same genus as Nassau grouper and the red species of the fish - the most common grouper in Southwest Florida. But they don't look, or act, like any other fish.

Goliaths have very short, rounded mouths and noses. They have large eyes that are set well forward on their snout. Between the eyes and the mouth there is a very short span and they have pronounced nostrils between the eyes and the mouth. Jewfish also have nearly perfectly round pectoral fins, much different from the fins of most groupers. The color of this fish is a bright mottled brown, set against a cream-yellow backdrop. However, color is never a good thing to go on. Very large jewfish that are found on dark bottom are nearly black in color.

The high-set eyes and nostrils and round pectoral fins may mean that jewfish are extremely sedentary fish. Nearly all jewfish over about 50 pounds in weight have a fine coating of barnacles on their skin. The skin of the Goliath grouper is much thicker than that of other groupers, that, and their sedentary nature, may explain a coating of small barnacles that other grouper seldom have. Gag grouper move far offshore during the summer and closer to shore in the colder months. But jewfish seem to be much more territorial, home bodies if you will. These are but some of the questions that Ecklund, and her team, are looking to answer. For jewfish nearly became extinct in the 1980s.

During the 1960s, 70s and 80s the killing of jewfish was commonplace. They were often caught during offshore bottom fishing encounters. When SCUBA diving gained popularity in the 60s and 70s a little device called a power head proved to be a serious threat to the big fish.

Because jewfish can be found in such shallow water, and because of their trusting nature, they mark one of the major attractions for divers in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf does not feature the crystal clear waters of other areas. But it is famous for huge, tame fish that you can almost pet. Before the power head came along few divers wanted to tackle a 400-pound Goliath with an ordinary spear gun. A twisted and broken spear would be the best advent of such an encounter. A broken diver rammed against the reef was another possibility.

The power head changed all of that. This device mounts the equivalent of a high powered rifle cartridge on a spear. Divers could then shoot the big fish and watch it die after an internal explosion caused quick damage to fish. The power heads were operated much like exploding heads on the harpoons of modern whaling ships.

Soon hook and line and spear gun-caught jewfish took a toll on the species and many of the same divers who once thought nothing about harvesting the big brutes were calling for protection. In 1990 the state and federal government banned all harvest of jewfish. Last year the nation of Brazil took Florida's lead and also banned harvest. But a funny thing has happened in the last 13 years. Goliath grouper numbers seem to be rebounding in dramatic and unexpected numbers. And the summer of 2003 has been no exception.

Despite a devastating red tide in the spring that saw hundreds of large, mature, jewfish die between Naples and Venice; anecdotal accounts seem to indicate that the big fellows are doing just fine. From all over the coast come accounts of hordes of jewfish in very shallow water. Offshore anglers now consider them to be a snapper-eating plague. WaterLine Columnist Merry Beth Ryan has a pet jewfish in a small canal behind her home. She catches and releases the little guy quite frequently. Meanwhile, lots of Goliaths, up to 60 pounds, are also taking up residence in Southwest Florida marinas and far up in the bays.

"I had a wreck in Charlotte Harbor where I used to catch grouper on a regular basis," Rotonda fishing guide Chris Mitchell said. "But I can't go there now because of the jewfish."

That's all good news to Dr. Ecklund. In 1995 Ecklund had identified three distinct spawning aggregations of jewfish. But those aggregations are starting to change, due to an aggressive tagging and study program.

"We have seen a much faster recovery than we would have expected based on we believe we know about their life history," Ecklund said from NOAA's Miami Lab. "They seem to be expanding their aggregation territories into what may have been historic ranges and that's really good news."

But there is a lot of work yet to be done. During the NOAA study over 100 Goliaths were tagged at the Boca Grande Phosphate Dock alone. Meanwhile, Ecklund points out that they are just now starting to see a building number of jewfish in the 50-150-pound class, perhaps the first years of sexual maturity. This, until now, scarcity of Goliaths in that size range may mean a missing size class of fish.

"It looks like these fish may be representative of the offspring of jewfish during the period of overharvest," Ecklund said. "We think they reach maturity at about 50-pounds, perhaps 10 years of age or so. If that's the case then these fish should not be showing until about now, reflecting protection. The fact that they seem to be showing up in good numbers now is great."

In short, good numbers of 50-150-pound jewfish may mean that the fish were not as severely overharvested as feared or it might mean they reach sexual maturity faster than expected. Scientists just don't know yet. They believe that jewfish live to be 40-50 years of age. However, there is not a lot of work that has been done on that part of their life cycle. According to Ecklund the oldest Goliath ear bone, called an otolith, was only 37 years old. Otolith aging is a key to finding the age of a fish. Scientists can count the rings around such a bone (just as they do the rings on a section of tree) to arrive at the age of the fish. But acquiring otoliths for large jewfish, a protected species, is a difficult task.

Ecklund's team had to rely on last spring's red tide to recover a seven-foot jewfish carcass off Sanibel Island for aging. At press time it was still awaiting the aging process at the National Marine Fisheries Service Panama City laboratory. And, without more data, NOAA, NMFS and the state are not talking about reopening harvest any time real soon. Though results are promising.

"We don't have any plans to open harvest right now," Ecklund said. "However, we are working on a model that will help us to access the kind of numbers that would predict recovery."

If the fish continue to recover they could go back on the catch list for Southwest Florida anglers. But if they do, look out. You tangle with Itajara forewarned. Stout rods and stout hearts are needed for battle with the Lord of the Rocks in his lair of stone.

By G. B. Knowles