Mycteroperca fusca is one of the main predators of the Canarian archipelago coastal marine ecosystem. Nothing is known on the life history or population dynamics of this predatory serranid fish. In this study, age and growth of M. fusca were investigated by annual growth increment counts from 214 fish collected between January 2004 and December 2005. A year’s growth is represented by one opaque and one translucent ring. The island grouper is a slow-growing and long-lived species, with ages up to twenty years recorded. Length at age was described by the von Bertalanffy growth model (L∞=898 mm; k=0.062 year-1; and t0= −3.83 year), the Schnute growth model (y1=262 mm; y2=707 mm; a=0.008; and b=1.98), and the seasonalised von Bertalanffy growth model (L∞=908 mm; k=0.061 year-1; t0= −3.83 year; C=2.58; and ts=0.542). Males and females show differences in growth.