In recent years a new fishery has developed for a species that was formerly considered rare, or unknown in the western North Atlantic. This is a globally distributed species, the wreckfish, Polyprion americanus . The wreckfish is a large bottom-living fish similar to a grouper, but which is classified in its own family, Polyprionidae.
Juveniles are very rare in the western Atlantic, but are common in the eastern Atlantic.
Until recently, wreckfish were considered rare in American waters, and the only data on American wreckfish were occurrence records of pelagic juveniles. It is uncertain where or at what size or age they descend to the bottom, where the adults are caught in U.S. fisheries. Fishing off the U.S. occurs mostly over areas of extensive vertical relief, such as that shown on this sonar profile. Upwelling increases food supply which supports large numbers of these big fish, concentrating at depths that are usually food poor. The Gulf Stream is also important in dispersal of eggs, larvae, and juvenile stages, from spawning grounds off South Carolina.