Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

Photo by Pauline Walsh Jacobson on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Fish·Active (October)

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

When
Active all year; habitat and behaviour shift with the season.
Habitat
Reefs, wrecks, channels, mangrove edges and seagrass flats — the flats and reefs of south Florida, the Red Sea and East African coast, Madagascar, northern KwaZulu-Natal, and West Africa from Mauritania to Nigeria.
Identification
A long, pike-like fish with a big, pointed head, a jutting lower jaw and fang-like teeth. Blue-grey above and silver below, with dark oblique bars on the upper side that stop short of the lateral line, scattered black blotches low on the flank, and a dark tail with white tips.
Notes
An ambush predator that relies on surprise and short bursts of speed — up to about 58 km/h (36 mph). Young fish school in mangroves and estuaries; big adults hunt alone around reefs and wrecks.
Method
A fast-retrieved tube lure or a bright plug over the flats and reef edges; live bait on a wire trace from a boat.
Caution
Barracuda can carry ciguatera toxin in many tropical waters, though it has not been reported from them in the eastern Atlantic — ask locally before eating one. In south-east Florida and the Keys the limit is two a day at 15–36 in (38–91 cm) fork length, with one larger fish allowed. Use a wire trace and keep hands clear of the teeth.

Seasons, size limits and catch limits change every year and differ by water body. Check the current regulations for the local jurisdiction and the water before fishing.

Great barracuda facts

Also called
Barracuda, ’cuda, sea pike or giant sea pike.
Family
Sphyraenidae, the barracudas.
Native range
Tropical and subtropical seas except the eastern Pacific: the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaiʻi and French Polynesia; the western Atlantic from Massachusetts and Bermuda through the Caribbean to Brazil; the eastern Atlantic from Mauritania and Senegal to Nigeria and São Tomé. In South Africa mainly from KwaZulu-Natal northwards.
Habitat
Near the surface over reefs, seagrass, wrecks and channels, down to about 100 m (330 ft); juveniles live in mangroves, estuaries and sheltered inner reefs.
Water temperature
Tropical. AquaMaps puts its preferred surface water at about 25–29°C (77–84°F).
Size
Most adults 60–120 cm (24–47 in); the largest measured about 200 cm (79 in).
Record
IGFA all-tackle world record: 39.55 kg (87 lb 3 oz), Christian Loranger, Christmas Island, Kiribati, 23 September 2012.
Lifespan
Up to about 18 years.
What it eats
Fish — needlefish, halfbeaks, puffers, jacks and mullet among them — with squid and sometimes shrimp.
Spawning
In summer in the tropics; in the western Atlantic from about April to October, peaking July to September. Males mature at about two years and 55 cm fork length, females at three years and 70 cm.
Young fish
Young fish live among mangroves and reed beds in estuaries; small ones have a forked tail and irregular dark blotches along the sides.
Teeth and mouth
A large mouth with a jutting lower jaw and strong, fang-like teeth of unequal size, set in sockets in the jaws and the roof of the mouth.
Look-alikes
Pickhandle barracuda (Sphyraena jello) of the Indian Ocean has dark bars that cross the lateral line and a largely yellow tail. Wahoo has a snout as long as the rest of its head and a long first dorsal fin of 23–27 spines.
Eating
Sold fresh, dried or salted, but barracuda are a known source of ciguatera poisoning in many tropical waters; FishBase notes it has not been reported from them in the eastern Atlantic.
Status
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2013).

Interactive

Great barracuda: size range

Move the slider from a typical adult to the largest recorded specimen, shown against objects of known size.

90 cm · 35 inmost adults20406080100120140160180200220240cm1224364860728496ina 4-year-old, lying down · 100 cma canoe paddle · 150 cma grown-up, lying down · 170 cm

Most adults you'll catch: 60–120 cm (24–47 in).

This great barracuda: 90 cm. Longer than a loaf of bread, shorter than a four-year-old.

The record

IGFA all-tackle world record: 39.55 kg (87 lb 3 oz), Christian Loranger, Christmas Island, Kiribati, 23 September 2012.

Questions people ask about great barracuda

Is barracuda safe to eat?

Not reliably. Barracuda can carry ciguatera toxin from reef food chains in many tropical waters, though FishBase notes no reports from the eastern Atlantic. Ask locally before eating one.

Are barracuda dangerous to swimmers?

Rarely. FishBase records that they occasionally attack people with a single, fierce strike — serious but rarely fatal. Keep hands well clear of a hooked fish’s teeth.

How big do great barracuda get?

Most adults are 60–100 cm (24–39 in); the species reaches 2 m (6 ft 7 in). The IGFA world record is 39.55 kg (87 lb 3 oz), from Christmas Island, Kiribati, in 2012.

Found in these regions

Checked against these sources ·

Sizes, records and ranges are for the species as a whole; local populations and rules vary. Records change; the record-keeper named above holds the current one.

Local activity

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Also active in October