Q: About 30 miles out of Pensacola, Florida, we started catching nice mingo [gray snapper] and scamp grouper when my friend, Jay Yanovich, yelled out that he had a big one. It took both of us to pull this fish in. We didn't weigh it but believe the fish was well over 50 pounds. Some said it was a black grouper; others said it was a warsaw. I would greatly appreciate it if you can positively identify this fish.

Ed Hale
Pensacola, Florida

A: The fish Jay landed was a true black grouper, Mycteroperca bonaci. For years, folks along the Florida Panhandle called gag grouper, M. microlepis, "blacks." True blacks were rarely seen this far north but are becoming more common in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The two look very similar, but the orangish spots are much more prevalent on true blacks. In addition, the lower edge of the preopercle, that middle bone on the gill plate, is smoothly rounded on a black, not notched like on a gag. Black grouper can grow to more than 120 pounds. — Bob Shipp