This debate has been going on since America became Politically Correct. You'd be surprised how many times I have been showing Florida Keys homes for sale to have the buyer tell me he/she drove over the Jewfish Creek Bridge then ask what a "Jewfish is. That's a hard one to answer without offending someone. There are many different answers and nobody really knows why it started being called a Jewfish.
Why do
some people call them “jewfish,” while others call them “goliath grouper”?
Well,
jewfish isn’t just a nickname for this massive fish, it used to be its official
name.
In the
spring of 2001, a group of scientists successfully petitioned to have the
official name of the fish changed from “jewfish” to “Goliath grouper.”
But how
did it get the name “jewfish” in the first place?
Well,
like many things in life (including why they say bananas are bad luck), there
are several myths and no “real” answers.
The other day I had a
conversation with Sid Dobrin about these gargantuan
fish, and he threw a few of the myths at me (one being it was a jewfish that
swallowed Jonah (a Jew) from the Bible).
This got
me thinking, what other myths are out there about the origin of the name
“jewfish” (aka Goliath Grouper)?
After
some serious research, interviewing seasoned anglers and diving through the
depths of Google, I uncovered these five myths…
MYTH #1: IT WAS A GOLIATH GROUPER THAT SWALLOWED JONAH FROM THE BIBLE (WHO WAS A JEW)
According
to the Bible, Jonah was a Jewish prophet from 8th century Israel who was
swallowed by a big fish.
The
bible doesn’t specify what kind of fish swallowed Jonah, but since goliath
grouper are so big, some people say they’re the culprit.
Now,
the world record goliath grouper was a 680-pound behemoth caught off of
Fernandina Beach, FL.
This
bad boy is pictured above, and if any fish is swallowing a man whole, I’m
putting my money on a goliath grouper.
MYTH #2: GOLIATH GROUPER ARE KOSHER
William Dampier, an English
traveler and certified adventurer (this dude circumvented the world 3 times!)
wroth about goliath grouper in his book from 1697 titled, A New Voyage
Round The World.
He
said, “The Jew-fish is a very good Fish, and I judge so called by the English,
because it hath Scales and Fins, therefore a clean Fish, according to the
Levitical Law.”
He
was talking about his time spent with Jewish Jamaicans, and this is one of the
earliest known references to these fish as “Jew-fish”.
So
the fact that goliath grouper are kosher is another potential source for the
name.
However,
one argument against this is that nearly all fish are kosher.
MYTH #3: IT’S DERIVED FROM THE ITALIAN WORD “GIUPESCE”
In
Italian, giupesce, means "bottom fish".
So
when you sound it out, it sounds like “jew-pesce”, and “pesce” means fish in
Italian.
So,
after some mixing and matching of languages, you could see how the name
“jewfish” might have come about…
MYTH #4: THEY WERE ORIGINALLY CALLED “JAWFISH”
Goliath
grouper have massive jaws.
Some
may say they’re even big enough to swallow a man alive and let him live inside
their stomachs for three days… (see myth #1)
So
it’s possible that they were once called jawfish, and one day some yahoo mixed
up their a’s and e’s and the name jewfish stuck.
Maybe
if the old English alphabet didn’t have their confusing “æ” character this
wouldn’t have happened…
MYTH #5: GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY
When
early European settlers first came to the Caribbean there were tons of goliath
grouper.
They
were clearly thriving and multiplying, which reminded them of where it says in
the Bible, “Go forth and multiply!”
I
don’t know about you, but I’d love to have been able to wet a line back then!
CONCLUSION
While
we may never know the true origin of the name jewfish, we do know that they
chose the name Goliath grouper because of how big they are.
They’re
so big, in fact, that they’re known to snap a heavy-duty rod right in half!
Which
myth do you think is most likely the true origin of the name jewfish?
I
have heard more reasons for why it is called a Jewfish and the truth is I have
no idea. What I do know is they are amazing to see underwater. They have been
known to grow to well over 600 pounds. They are a lot of fun to catch, the
smaller (100 pounds) ones that is. If you do catch one, they are strictly a
catch and release fish. They are very protected and come with a huge fine of
you're caught taking them out of the water. Come down to the Keys and look at
some homes for sale. Then we can go diving and try to find a Jewfish for you to
see.
Gary
