Barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

A hunter, it has razor-sharp triangular teeth that slot perfectly into one another and cut like a pair of scissors. It uses a high velocity lunge to capture prey and can literally slice a fish in half. The largest barracuda ever caught was 1.7m

They live to 14 yrs and like most fish the larvae have a planktonic stage in the open ocean, the juveniles mature hiding amongst mangroves and seagrass beds and in their second year, (perhaps around 20cm long) they venture out to sea.

One of the most ciguatoxic fish to eat.

These fish are famous for herding schools of fish into shallow water and guarding them (like sheep). Then when they have digested their last meal their next one is ready to eat.

There has been 2 deaths attributed to barracuda (one in 1947 and the other 1957), legend has it that in the Caribbean in the 1700s, there were 20 foot long barracuda that ate horses (and their riders) and apparently they preferred eating Englishmen.