Scientists document long-term patterns of a fish most popular with children and beginners.
If you have spent much time bottom fishing off the Carolinas, you probably encountered a white grunt. They might not be the fish most anglers brag about, yet they play important roles both on your line and in the ecosystem.
When more popular species, such as grouper or snapper, are not biting, white grunts often keep spirits high and coolers from going home empty. They are dependable, lively when hooked, and surprisingly tasty, making them a favorite introduction to offshore fishing for many beginners.
Research Need
The white grunt (Haemulon plumierii) is a reef fish found across the Southeast, through the Caribbean, and into South America. In North Carolina, anglers often encounter them around rocky bottoms, ledges, and artificial reefs. Despite their wide presence and their value to reef ecosystems, there has never been a formal stock assessment for this species in U.S. waters.
NOAA scientists and partners wanted to understand where white grunts occur along the Southeast, how their numbers have changed over time, and what habitats support them. This information can help resource managers make informed decisions about reef habitats and local fish stocks.
What Did They Study?
Researchers used more than three decades of data collected by the Southeast Reef Fish Survey (SERFS), which spans Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to central Florida. The survey uses baited traps filled with menhaden and underwater cameras to record reef fish communities.
Between 1990 and 2023, the team analyzed more than 24,000 trap samples and 15,000 video recordings to determine how white grunt abundance relates to depth, bottom temperature, and seafloor type.
What Did They Find?
White grunts were most common off southern North Carolina and northern South Carolina. This area, the species’ “core range,” lies in mid-shelf waters about 65 to 200 feet deep.
The fish were frequently found where bottom temperatures were warmer than about 77 °F and the seafloor contained rocky, high‑relief hardbottom that provided cover and feeding areas. White grunts were found in similar places and under similar conditions as more popular species like scamp, hogfish and red grouper, and lionfish.
Over the 33‑year study, white grunt abundance fluctuated but showed an overall decline, particularly after the mid‑2000s. The reasons for this drop remain uncertain, although contributing factors could include seasonal changes in bottom temperature, the introduction of lionfish to the region (which consume grunts), and fishing activity.
What Else Did They Find?
White grunts caught within the Carolinas’ core area were smaller on average than those captured farther south, where waters disproportionately accommodated ones over 16 inches long. This suggests that reefs in this core area may serve as nursery habitat, supporting younger, smaller fish before they move into deeper waters
Across 33 years of data collection using traps, the largest fish captured was 20.5 inches. The smallest was a little over 5 inches.
So What?
This research provides one of the clearest pictures to date of white grunts at the northern edge of their range. The species remains most common around structured, mid‑depth reefs off the Carolinas, but numbers have generally declined over time.
Because white grunts have no formal stock assessment and no size limit as of 2025, these results offer important baseline information for scientists and managers. Identifying and monitoring habitats that support different life stages will be valuable for maintaining healthy populations and the fisheries that depend on them along the Southeast coast.
Reading
Bacheler, N. M., & Bubley, W. J. (2025). Spatial dynamics, temporal abundance, and habitat use of White Grunt in the southeastern United States. Marine and Coastal Fisheries, 17(5), vtaf019. https://doi.org/10.1093/mcfafs/vtaf019
Funding was provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Lead photo: White grunt (Haemulon plumierii)
Credit: NOAA CCMA Biogeography Team.
The text from Hook, Line & Science is available to reprint and republish at no cost, but only in its entirety and with this attribution: Hook, Line & Science, courtesy of Scott Baker and Sara Mirabilio, North Carolina Sea Grant.
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