FishOccasional

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

A silver torpedo hanging motionless in the blue – the great barracuda quickens every diver's pulse, though in truth it is merely curious.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) is one of the reef's apex predators: its streamlined, silver-gleaming body can reach 1.8 metres, and its jutting lower jaw is set with dagger-like teeth. In a hunting burst it accelerates to over 40 km/h – making it one of the fastest fish in the Red Sea.

Young barracudas live in schools, but the big old individuals hover as solitary sentinels above reef walls and wrecks, often nearly motionless for minutes at a time. It is not a timid fish: it frequently stations itself above a group of divers and escorts them for a stretch – completely normal, curious behaviour, not the prelude to an attack.

Around Hurghada we meet the big ones mostly on the open-water sides of Umm Gamar and Carless Reef and above the El Mina wreck. The encounter always happens in the blue: at first the silver body reads as a mere shadow, then the unmistakable silhouette with the jutting jaw takes shape – a moment you will not forget.

Did you know?

Barracudas are drawn to shiny objects: a glinting watch or piece of jewellery mimics the flash of small fish scales. The rare barracuda "incidents" on record nearly all trace back to such flashes – which is why we dive without shiny jewellery.

How to behave around it

The barracuda is practically harmless to humans: it does not see you as prey, it is simply curious. Take off shiny jewellery and your watch before the dive, never feed it, and avoid sudden waving movements towards it – that is the entire barracuda etiquette.

Where can you meet it?

We see the largest individuals along the outer walls of Umm Gamar and Carless Reef and above the El Mina wreck and Abu Ramada, typically arriving from the blue.

Frequently asked questions

Practically never: barracudas do not regard humans as prey. The extremely rare incidents recorded worldwide almost all involve murky water and flashing metal objects the fish mistook for small fish. Diving in clear water without jewellery, a barracuda is nothing but an impressive sight.

Your best chances are along the open-water walls of Umm Gamar and Carless Reef and above the El Mina wreck, where the big individuals like to stand guard. You can meet one all year round – just remember to glance out into the blue regularly during your dive.

Partly out of curiosity, partly out of calculation: in the shadow of a large "companion" it can stalk small fish more easily, and the tiny creatures stirred up by your bubbles attract prey too. If it hovers above you, it is not hunting you – it is simply using the situation cleverly.