Two research programs on the dusky grouper started in 1992 supported by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture-General Direction of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The programs aimed to improve the knowledge on the biology of Epinephelus marginatus in order to contribute to the diversification of marine fish culture and to start active restocking programs in protected coastal areas. This paper presents the problems and the progress in the maintenance of dusky grouper broodstock and the preliminary results on the first trials of induced spawning in females. E. marginatus is a protogynous species i.e. it matures as females and sex reverts into male when it is bigger and older. Difficulties in the formation of a good broodstock are mainly related to the reproductive pattern and thus to the males availability. Individuals of E. marginatus were caught by long-line in two different coastal areas (Ionian Sea and Sicily Channel). Two different broodstocks were formed and reared in two different plants. The difficulty in keeping large groupers alive just after capture required the set up of a technique (hyperbaric treatments) to avoid mortality for gas supersaturation. After collection the fish were reared in 10 mc tanks supplied with seawater (5-6 volumes/day) and maintained under natural daylight and temperature (stocking density: 4-5 Kg/mc). Groupers were daily fed squid and occasionally trash fish ad libitum. In 1992-93 natural spawning did not occur, either reproductive behaviour or morphological signs appeared. Only following hormone administration females showed the characteristic swollen belly and hypertrophic genital papilla. In August 1994 female spawners were selected and treated by hormones on the basis of oocytes size and yolk deposition. Three injections 24 hours apart at the specific dose of 1000-2000 I.U./Kg of HCG alone or combined with 15-16 microg/Kg of a-LHRH were able to induce maturation of vitellogenic oocytes and partial or full ovulation.