Below the link I've excerpted a relevant section.
"As noted by the GMFMC (1990) and the SAFMC (1990), fishing pressure on goliath grouper throughout the 1970s and 1980s impacted the abundance and density of the species in both the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic; total U.S. commercial goliath grouper landings are presented in Table 2. Commercial landings in the Atlantic Ocean peaked in 1977 with 72,000 pounds (Table 3). In the Gulf of Mexico, commercial landings increased in the late 1970s, and continued to increase until their eventual decline in the mid- to late-1980s (Tables 4-6). Because of fishing pressure in the commercial and recreational sectors, the abundance and density of goliath grouper significantly decreased throughout its range. In many cases, the species was completely eradicated from areas such as North and South Carolina for over a decade."
"Porch et al. (2003) summarized interviews with fishermen and divers who had been active in southern Florida since the 1960s or earlier. Specifically, the nine interviewees were asked their perception on the reduction in goliath grouper populations from the time they first started fishing to the time of the harvest prohibition in 1990. The average percent reduction reported was 86 percent, with a standard deviation of approximately 13 percent (Porch et al., 2003)."
The ocean around the Keys is lousy with Goliath Grouper. When they put the ban in, they said it was because they grow so slowly. They said it would take 50 years for Goliath Grouper to reach their ultimate maximum weight of 600-800 pounds.
LOLOL, the damn fish are growing to 600 pounds in less than 8 years. There are hundreds of fishing spots that I used to fish frequently, that I don’t even go to anymore because you can’t get a fish to the boat past the monster Jewfish. I’ve got pictures taken last summer of anchored up on a spot, with 20 of the huge Jewfish coming to the surface when they hear the engine, looking for a meal. The things are so voracious and huge, they would eat a 30 pound dog in one gulp if it fell overboard.
This is not a fish in danger. In fact, they should open season on them before they eat everything else in the sea.