Additional Records of a Non-Native Fish, The Snowy Grouper (Epinephelus Niveatus), in Nova Scotian Waters

Abstract

At Clam Harbour, Nova Scotia in September 2005, two juvenile Snowy Groupers, Epinephelus niveatus (Valenciennes 1828), were captured. Subsequently, in October 2006 during the regular census of six artificial reefs in Sambro Harbour near Halifax, four juvenile Snowy Groupers were observed and one was captured. During the observation period the fish remained close to the reefs and fed voraciously. The arrival of the Snowy Groupers was correlated with the occurrence of a warm Gulf Stream tendril and their disappearance coincided with a drop in water temperature to 7.2°C.