You may want to stay on the boat.
This part of the ocean
doesn't belong to you.
It belongs to this beast,
the Atlantic goliath grouper.
And if you wander too close
to these shadows,
you may not come back out.
So what would happen
if this giant devoured you?
Reaching weights up to 360 kg (800 lb)
and lengths of almost 2.5 m (8 ft),
the Atlantic Goliath grouper fish stalks
its prey from the depths
of the Atlantic Ocean.
This massive fish can take down
small sharks and even an occasional human.
Their lack of fear has allowed humans
to get close to them
and hunt them to dangerously low levels.
With their numbers down by 80%,
the Atlantic Goliath grouper is
a critically endangered species.
Plus, its slow speed makes it an easy target.
An opportunistic predator,
the Goliath grouper can spend hours
in dark holes waiting for the right moment
to eat everything in its path.
This type of grouper lures large fish and invertebrates
by just opening its mouth.
And if you linger for too long in one area,
this predator could eat you alive.
Its mouth opening is so huge
that the negative pressure it exerts
sucks everything in its vicinity
inside the grouper's mouth.
The inside of your body builds up nitrogen gas
when you swim deep underwater.
When you're near the surface,
your body can expel the gas quickly.
But when you've been down deep,
you need to ascend slowly and give your tissue
time to let the gas out naturally.
When your body undergoes a sudden shift in pressure,
the excess nitrogen in your body
could expand and form bubbles
in your bloodstream.
If the negative pressure was too intense,
it could give you a stroke
or even paralyze you on the spot.
But could you get away from this fish?
It's not that fast, right?
Well, you might be able to outswim this Goliath,
but you would also have to survive its tremendous sonic blast.
This beast might contract the muscles around its swim bladder
and release a shockwave that would stun you.
So you'd need to keep moving.
But if this monster came at you full speed
it would have its mouth open,
sucking in the water
and everything around it.
And while this grouper could have
up to five rows of pointed teeth,
they aren't for chewing.
They're for keeping you inside and
moving you further into its hungry mouth.
Unless you have an oxygen tank,
you will drown inside this cavity.
Water would fill your lungs
and with your air cut off,
you could experience severe brain damage.
But if you had some way to breathe in here
this horrific journey wouldn't end in the Goliath's mouth.
From this enormous
you would travel down
the fish's esophagus into its stomach.
And there, you might meet an even worse end.
Like being stuck in a washing machine,
the fish's stomach would churn
and grind you while coating you
with its digestive enzymes.
Unfortunately, this massive muscular organ
evolved to hold large prey just like you.
But don't worry,
you only have one stop left,
although I don't think you're going to like it.
"No! God!"
If you think you could escape out the, uh,
backdoor of this fish, think again.
The pylorus, the sphincter muscle,
prevents any waste from getting through
until the fish is ready.
Yeah.
You would have to wait until the fish expels
its waste before you could think about swimming away.
If your body somehow survived this attack
your mind would be disoriented and scared.
You would need to control your breathing
and watch the direction of your exhalation bubbles.
Follow them up to the surface
and remember, go slowly.
After everything you've been through,
the last thing you need is the bends.
An encounter with an Atlantic Goliath grouper
could leave you stunned, drowned or even dead.
And even if you escaped,
you would be alone in the cold, dark water.
And you'd be even more vulnerable.
Geez, what if you were swallowed by a whale?
Well, take a breath.
Because that's a story for another WHAT IF.