Iconic Gus the Groper fish is dead, despite suggestions that it was another fish of the same species which was illegally speared, a local dive expert insists.
There was uproar when a fish, believed to be locals’ favourite so-called ‘labrador of the sea’, was killed at Oak Park, near Cronulla, south of Sydney, on December 30.
The fisherman proudly showed off his catch in a bloodied wetsuit – but a documentary filmmaker who knows Gus came forward last week to insist the speared fish wasn’t Gus at all, but a lookalike.
David Ireland, 76, who first befriended a beloved giant fish nicknamed Gus in the 1980s, claimed Gus was really much larger than the speared fish. He also said Gus had a tell-tale scar near his tail where he was previously speared years earlier, but had survived.
However, diving expert Peter Letts hotly disputed this, telling Daily Mail Australia that Mr Ireland is likely recalling an ‘earlier Gus’ that had lived in the same rockpool, and had been superseded by a ‘second Gus’ when it died.
Gus the groper, dead in the hands of the spear fisherman who proudly posed in his bloodied wetsuit, only to be abused by locals as he walked with the beloved creature up the beach
![Dive expert Peter Letts revealed an amazing fact about Gus which is true of all Eastern blue gropers - that they start off life as females before undergoing 'protogynous hermaphroditism'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/05/80012305-12962777-Dive_expert_Peter_Letts_revealed_an_amazing_fact_about_Gus_which-a-16_1705296253325.jpg)
Dive expert Peter Letts revealed an amazing fact about Gus which is true of all Eastern blue gropers – that they start off life as females before undergoing ‘protogynous hermaphroditism’
![Dive master Peter Letts (above with his daughter Rachel Fallon) has a love of the sea and hopes to use Gus's sad demise to galvanise anti-spearing laws of the beloved marine giants](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/05/80012213-12962777-Dive_master_Peter_Letts_above_with_his_daughter_Rachel_Fallon_ha-a-17_1705296254605.jpg)
Dive master Peter Letts (above with his daughter Rachel Fallon) has a love of the sea and hopes to use Gus’s sad demise to galvanise anti-spearing laws of the beloved marine giants
Gus’s rock pool is currently empty of a blue male fish, which typically dominate an underwater territory.
The fish live for about 40 years, and Mr Letts believed the ‘Gus’ with the tail scar had died and been replaced with the one who has just been caught and killed.
Mr Letts who runs Abyss Diving in Sydney’s southern suburbs and holds regular diving classes at Oak Park said divers familiar with the more recent Gus, including Tenille Piek who has a tattoo of the fish on her arm, know he is gone.
The local swimming group dubbed the Jellybeans has even written a song about Gus, lamenting the ‘cruel and cowardly action’ about the fish ‘betrayed by a man with a spear’.
‘Tragically, Gus met his untimely demise on 30th December 2023, at the hands of a spear fisherman,’ he has written in a heartfelt tribute to Gus, ‘the amiable blue groper who accompanied me on countless dives at Oak Park, Cronulla’.
The tribute is also Mr Letts’ effort since Gus’s death to step up conservation of gropers in Australian waters and protection of them from spear fishing, which incurs only small fines.
The spear fisherman captured spearing Gus and removing him from Oak Park was fined just $800, despite there being a maximum penalty of $21,000 and six months in jail.
Mr Letts – who has earned 28 diving, underwater photography and navigation qualifications since chucking in his corporate career in 2000 – has led the storm of protest that followed.
![Peter Letts, above, teaching scuba diving, wrote a heartfelt tribute to Gus, 'the amiable blue groper who accompanied me on countless dives at Oak Park, Cronulla'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/05/80012299-12962777-Peter_Letts_above_teaching_scuba_diving_wrote_a_heartfelt_tribut-a-20_1705296255103.jpg)
Peter Letts, above, teaching scuba diving, wrote a heartfelt tribute to Gus, ‘the amiable blue groper who accompanied me on countless dives at Oak Park, Cronulla’
![Gus , like all Eastern blue gropers, transformed from a female fish into a dominant male via a phenomenon, known as protogynous hermaphroditism, triggered by the death of a male](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/05/80012351-12962777-Gus_like_all_Eastern_blue_gropers_transformed_from_a_female_fish-a-19_1705296255103.jpg)
Gus , like all Eastern blue gropers, transformed from a female fish into a dominant male via a phenomenon, known as protogynous hermaphroditism, triggered by the death of a male
![Police charged the spear fisherman (above, taking Gus from the water) with a mere $800 in fines, but public fury at his actions and the small penalty continues](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/05/80006235-12962777-Police_charged_the_spear_fisherman_above_taking_Gus_from_the_wat-a-21_1705296255353.jpg)
Police charged the spear fisherman (above, taking Gus from the water) with a mere $800 in fines, but public fury at his actions and the small penalty continues
Apart from nominating the area be renamed ‘Gus Reserve’ he has tagged numerous politicians to encourage them to clear up the confusion over ‘the boundaries between spear and no spear areas.
‘By doing so, we can proactively prevent any potential harm, such as an uninformed spear fisherman inadvertently targeting a scuba diver.’
Meanwhile, Mr Letts revealed another blue groper – which are all male – will eventually move into Gus’s old grotto once the currently rough seas have subsided.
And like Gus, that fish will have started off life as a female.
He explained that groper are territorial and while more than one female fish, which are a green to reddish brown colour can occupy the same area, only one male occupies an area.
He said it was entirely natural that another male groper should move in after Gus’s demise.
Mr Letts said gropers like Gus, while as adult males have transformed into a dazzling cobalt blue with thick lips and peg-shaped teeth, they all start off life as females.
‘As they mature, some transform remarkably, switching from female to male. This phenomenon, known as protogynous hermaphroditism, is a common trait among wrasses,’ he wrote on his Gus the Groper blog.
‘The protogynous hermaphroditism, the transformation of the dominant female into a male, stands as one of the most intriguing aspects of the Blue Groper’s life cycle.
‘This rare characteristic is typically triggered by the death of the dominant male in a group, prompting the largest female to undergo a sex change and take up the role of the group’s leader.
‘Vibrant Eastern Blue Gropers captivate divers with their mesmerizing hues and friendly demeanour.’
He wanted to spread ‘the poignant tale of Gus, the adored Eastern Blue Groper, whose unfortunate fate has become a rallying cry for marine conservation efforts across Australia.’