Graybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum

Greybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum. Fish caught off the beach at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, December 2019. Length: 30 cm (12 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Greybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, September 2003. Length: 38 cm (15 inches).

Greybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum. Fish caught from coastal waters off Agua Verde, Baja California Sur, April 2018. Length: 40 cm (16 inches). Catch, photograph and identification of Barry Mastro, Escondido, California.

Greybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Greybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, January 2019. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Graybar Grunt, Haemulon sexfasciatum, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, and is known in Mexico as burro almejero. Globally, there are twenty-one species in the genus Haemulon, and all twenty-one are found in Mexican waters, fourteen in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific Ocean.

The Graybar Grunt has a moderately elongated bodies with an elevated compressed back and a depth that is 36% to 38% of standard length. They have 5 or 6 prominent vertical black bars that cover the upper two-thirds of their sides. The spaces between these bars are white to yellow and the remainder of their head and body is silvery white. Their head and bars are covered with small black spots. Their anal and pelvic fins are transparent, Juveniles have dark mid-lateral stripes that converge with a black spot on their caudal fin base; they also have 2 dark stripes, the first running from the snout to the dorsal fin origin and the second from the upper margin of the eye to the dorsal surface of the tail base. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 9 or 10 rays; their caudal fin is forked; and, their dorsal fin is continuous with a small notch with 11 or 12 spines and 16 to 18 rays.  They have 18 to 22 gill rakers. They are covered with scales.

The Graybar Grunt is found in various locations including sand, rubble, and rocky reefs at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They are very abundant in some sections of the Gulf forming huge daytime aggregations around rocky reefs. They reach a maximum of 71 cm (2 feet 4 inches) in length and 4.0 kg (8 lbs 13 oz) in weight. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 4.0 kg (8 lbs 13 oz) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Costa Rica, September 2020. They are nocturnal carnivores feeding on benthic crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, and small fish. The Graybar Grunt is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Graybar Grunt is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but have a limit distribution being found from Magdalena Bay. Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, and throughout the Sea of Cortez, and along the coastal mainland south to Guatemala. They are more abundant in the central and southern portions of the Sea of Cortez.

The Graybar Grunt is a straightforward identification that cannot be confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Graybar Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are are viewed as a good food fish. They can be caught off the beach on cut squid, shrimp or small whole or cut up large Lightfoot Sally Crabs, but normally well before first light.