The skewed sex ratio and lack of small males suggests that this species is a monandric protogynous hermaphrodite but this has not been confirmed histologically.

[1] The sailfin grouper was first formally described as Serranus olfax in 1843 by the English clergyman, author and naturalist Leonard Jenyns (1800-1893) with the type locality given as San Cristóbal Island in the Galapagos.

[6] The sailfin grouper is the commonest and most valuable finfish landed in the Galápagos by the artisanal handline fishery and has been since the Norwegians introduced the butterfly method of salting and drying fish that gives bacalao (known as cod in Spanish) its name in the late 1920s.

The dried flesh is exported to the mainland Ecuador where it is used in a traditional Easter dish called fanesca.

In 2008 it was reported that fishing effort was being reduced as fishers targeted the more valuable sea cucumber and lobster stocks.