Spinycheek Grouper is distributed in the Indian Ocean from the Gulf of Aden (McKoy et al. 2009, Mehanna et al. 2013) to Sri Lanka and Madras, India, including the Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman Islands (Nair, 2018). Declines have been noted in India due to fishing activity and there is particular concern associated with the large amount of juveniles being taken. This is one of the most abundant species in trawl fishing conducted between 18 to 45 metres depth off India (Chakraborty 1994, James et al. 1996) and grouper species such as this constitute one of the most important demersal fishery resources on the Malabar Coast, Kerala.
By the early 2000s, fishing pressure was considered to be too high for this species (Manojkumar 2005). Total landings in India were relatively stable from 2007 to 2013, but increased by several orders of magnitude after 2013 until at least 2015. The increases were especially due to landings in Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala on the west coast, with landings on the southeast coast from Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh also contributing (Nair et al. 2017). Across India, landings of grouper species have increased steadily over 27 years from 3,251 tonnes in 1985 to 44,684 tonnes in 2013, with highest landings recorded from the southwest followed by southeast and northwest. It is considered to have a higher natural abundance in the southwest as compared to other parts of India (Nair et al. 2017), especially off Mangalore (Dineshbabu et al. 2014). According to a length cohort analysis conducted with fishery data collected during 2007-2013, the spawning stock biomass was estimated at 403 tonnes and the standing stock was 599 tonnes with a yield of 272 tonnes (Nair et al. 2017). In 2009-2010, individuals of this species landed in trawls ranged from 10-32 cm, and immature individuals constituted 74% of the catch and a further 26% were nearly mature (predominantly 1+ year class fish).
Overfishing is a major threat to this species. If large numbers of juveniles/immature individuals are taken in trawl catches it is likely to contribute to growth overfishing. The minimum legal size (MLS) of 18 cm has been set for this species. A recent National Fisheries Policy document also includes strict recommendations to also regulate the proliferation of fish meal plants with the intention of reducing fishing pressure on juveniles (GOI 2016). The Fisheries Department and Marine Enforcement of Kerala has also recently increased enforcement of regulations against landing juvenile fish. It is recommended that fishing effort is reduced through adjusting fleet size, mainstreaming biodiversity conservation in production processes, implementing species-specific and area-specific management plans and creation of fish refugia through consultative processes (GOI 2016).