Dive with
Best places to dive with Dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus
The signature large fish of Maltese reefs and wrecks. A heavy-bodied grouper that shelters in hull openings and rock crevices. Endangered on the IUCN list from decades of spearfishing pressure across the Mediterranean, so a good-sized individual is a genuine sighting.
Destinations ranked by how reliably dusky grouper is seen. The bars show the likelihood by month — never a guarantee. See the full species page for more.
Azores, Portugal
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Not a pelagic-season animal — a resident reef fish, useful on the coastal days.
Malta & Gozo, Malta
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Resident year-round on reefs and wrecks like the Rozi, Um El Faroud and Xatt l-Ahmar wrecks; less active in the coldest winter water.