‘Tax Collector’ Salvages Portion of Rare Grouper Caught Off Florida

A Florida fishing guide bragged Tuesday about catching a large yellowfin grouper, minus a portion collected by the “tax collector.”

“This one is very rare!” William Delph of Delph Fishing explained via Instagram. “For those of you who don’t know, this is a Yellowfin Grouper, otherwise known as a ‘Fireback.’”

“These groupers are extremely rare to catch here. Unfortunately, a shark decided to have a taste of this fish before we could get it on the boat.”

A shark is universally referred to as a “tax collector” or “tax taker” when it claims part or all of a fisherman’s catch.

Delph, who was fishing in Dry Tortugas, did not provide a weight for his catch.

The Florida record for yellowfin grouper is 34 pounds, 6 ounces.

The world record is 47 pounds, for a fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas in 2021.

The yellowfin grouper lives mainly near offshore reefs, where it hunts mainly small fish and squid. Its name comes from the bright yellow coloration of its external pectoral fins.