Barracuda
(Great Barracuda)
(Sphyraena barracuda)
No family affiliation.
Description: Greenish or grayish above, with silvery sides marked by numerous dark blotches. Tail widely forked with pointed lobes. Teeth, teeth, and more teeth.
Similar fish: Southern sennet, (Sphyraena picudilla,) and Guaguanche (Sphyraena guachancho.)
Where found: primarily inshore fish inhabiting shallows of the Florida Keys; found in shallows often less than one foot deep, usually over lush grass flats, occasionally over white sand.
Size: One foot juveniles on shallow flats, to 50 pounds or more offshore. Average 5-15 pounds.
Remarks: On appropriate tackle, The Great Barracuda is a spectacular and able fighter, with fast, long runs and greyhounding jumps. In deeper waters they fight with strength and stamina. This is one super sportfishing species.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Marine Resources,
Office o Fisheries Management and Assistance Services
