Dusky grouper

Photo: Sylvain Le Bris · CC BY-NC

La Maddalena's dusky grouper are famously bold — decades of protection and relatively low dive traffic in the inner park zones have produced fish that approach divers at arm's reach and hold their position on the reef. Large males patrolling territories can exceed 80 centimetres and weigh over 15 kilograms, and their deeply patterned brown and gold flanks make them unmistakable. They are important apex predators that regulate sea bream, wrasse, and cephalopod populations across the rocky reef system.