Orange-spotted grouper (hamour)

A brownish to gray grouper covered in small orange to brownish-orange spots on the head, body and fins, with five faint dark bars on the body that come and go. Rounded tail. Easily confused with the Malabar grouper, which has black spots and darker bars.

3–15 lb.

About 4 ft (120 cm) and about 33 lb (15 kg).

Fish, crabs, shrimp and squid.

An ambush predator that sits in holes, rocks, rubble and wrecks; young fish live in mangroves and estuaries. Like many groupers it starts life as a female and later changes to male.

Found from Red Sea & Arabian Gulf (Egypt, Oman, UAE), East Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, Southern Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Pakistan, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam), Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Sulawesi), Philippines, China, Hong Kong & Taiwan, Japan & South Korea, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Northern Territory & Western Australia and South Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea. Turbid coastal reefs, rocky and rubble bottoms, wrecks, harbors and estuaries from the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and East Africa (south to Durban) to India, Southeast Asia, Japan, northern Australia and Fiji. A top fish in the Gulf states (hamour) and widely farmed in Asia.

Turbid coastal reefs, rocky and rubble bottoms, wrecks, harbors and estuaries from the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and East Africa (south to Durban) to India, Southeast Asia, Japan, northern Australia and Fiji. A top fish in the Gulf states (hamour) and widely farmed in Asia.

3–330 ft, usually under 160 ft.

On the bottom by rocks, reefs, wrecks and oil-platform legs in 20–120 ft.

Year-round; in the Arabian Gulf, cooler months (about October to April) are best.

Morning, evening and at tide changes.

Slack and early moving tide make bottom fishing easier.

Calm days for anchoring over structure.

Live small fish, cut fish, squid and shrimp.

Soft plastics on jig heads, slow-pitch jigs and deep crankbaits worked near structure.

Medium-heavy bottom or jigging rod with a strong reel.

4/0–7/0 circle hooks.

40–65 lb braid.

50–80 lb fluorocarbon.

Anchor or drift over rocks, wrecks and platform legs, drop bait to the bottom and lift the fish fast once it bites — a grouper that reaches its hole is hard to pull out.

Fish the shadow side of a wreck or platform leg; groupers sit right against the structure, so a bait even a few feet away gets ignored.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Excellent eating — one of the best-tasting fish in its range.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

One of the Gulf's favorite fish — fried, grilled, in machboos (spiced rice) and curries; also steamed whole in Chinese cooking.

Sharp gill covers and dorsal spines. If you release a fish from deep water, use a descending device.

Hamour is overfished in the Arabian Gulf; the UAE and other Gulf states have size limits, gear rules and seasonal bans. Australia and other countries have size and bag limits. Check local rules. Rules differ by country: the UAE, Oman, Egypt, Kenya, the Seychelles, Mauritius, the Maldives, India and others have their own recreational or charter licenses, and many marine parks and reserves are no-take — check before you go.

Release small hamour so they can grow and breed.