Exploitation of the calico grouper in recreational and commercial fisheries has brought this species to the brink of extinction (1). Although there are limits to how many groupers can be taken in each fishing trip, the sheer number of fishermen (there are one million recreational licenses in Florida alone) has caused the population to continue to decline (1). As shallow water fish stocks decrease, fishing is taking place in increasingly deep water in order to improve catch rates, increasing the threat to the calico grouper (1).
This species also suffers from bycatch mortality (7). As a deep water species, when it is brought to the surface reduced pressure causes lethal gas expansion in its swim bladder (1), meaning when this species is caught unintentionally, it is unlikely to survive even if thrown back into the water (7).
It is thought that the calico grouper displays low resilience to population reductions, emphasizing the seriousness of these threats. Despite the vast number of young produced by each female, it can take up to 14 years for a population to double (2).