Sphyraena barracuda is the largest of the barracuda species at Kwajalein. They can be seen, alone or near a small number of others, on a wide variety of lagoon, pinnacle and seaward reefs. They feed mostly on fish and are sometimes caught by fishermen trolling near reefs. Their flesh is reported to be dangerously ciguatoxic and eating them is not wise. Worldwide they are reported to reach 200cm, but we have not seen any that large around here. Despite the barracudas' reputation, those here do not appear aggressive in most cases. I did have one act agitated, turn and bare its teeth like a cornered dog at me several times when I was following it to shoot video. I decided to retreat.
The image below was captured from low resolution Hi8 video and shows a large barracuda being serviced by a cleaner wrasse, Labroides bicolor. The barracuda appeared to have a damaged mouth; likely it had been caught on hook and line and escaped or was released. It was probably hoping the cleaner could fix the irritation caused by the hole in its jaw.
Created 29 September 2017