Belzelbub
Contributor
What would you accept as evidence? I just went to YouTube and entered “Goliath grouper steals” and clicked on the suggestion. Several videos popped up showing Goliath groupers stealing catch. Most are from spearos, but that was expected. While I know that some H&L fishermen film while fishing, most probably do not. When a fish is stolen at the surface, it can be tough to document it if you didn’t already have a camera rolling and pointed in the right direction.I have heard the Goliath Grouper are "stealing our catch" nonsense for years. I haven't seen anybody make that claim and produce a scintilla of documented evidence to back it up. Claims made without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Plus, when a GG steals a catch, they don’t often leave evidence. They swallow the fish and run. The angler is left with nothing but a snapped line as “proof.” Snarls and barracudas are also opportunistic feeders, but they bite instead of swallowing whole, so there is a bit more evidence after the fact.
I’m not surprised that there isn’t evidence of every theft, but there is evidence out there.