Coral Grouper

Coral Grouper

　　　Product Name: Coral Grouper

　　Place of Origin: Wenzhou

　　Product Features: Delicious and refreshing flesh, premium quality

　　Product Introduction: The Coral Grouper, Epinephelus awoara (Temminck & Schlegel), inhabits clear, fast-flowing, high-quality seawater areas with rocky reefs. The waters around Nanji in our county are one of the main producing areas of Coral Groupers in China, with an annual yield of over 100 tons. The fish is renowned both domestically and internationally for its delicious, refreshing flesh and premium quality. Its body is elongated oval, slightly laterally compressed, typically measuring 15–20 cm in length and weighing 350–750 grams. The posterior margin of the preopercle has fine serrations, and the opercle has two flat spines. The body is covered with fine ctenoid scales, and the lateral line runs parallel to the dorsal edge. The back is brownish, the belly is lighter in color, and the whole body is scattered with orange-yellow spots. There are five dark brown transverse bands on the body, with bands 1 and 2 closely connected, bands 3 and 4 located between the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin and that of the anal fin, and band 5 situated on the caudal peduncle. The dorsal fin rays are sturdy; the anal fin is located below the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin; the pelvic fins are thoracic; and the caudal fin is rounded. All fins are grayish-brown, with the edges of the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin and the posterior edge of the caudal fin being yellow.

　　Product History: Distributed in the western part of the North Pacific. In China, it is found in the South China Sea and the southern part of the East China Sea, especially abundant in the South China Sea. It can be caught year-round, with spring and summer being the peak fishing seasons.