September 2006 Guess the Fish Contest Answer & Winner This month's fish is a Northern Barracuda. Barracudas are elongated fishes with powerful jaws. The lower jaw of the large mouth juts out beyond the upper. Barracudas possess strong, fang-like teeth. These are unequal in size and set in sockets in the jaws on the roof of the mouth. The head is quite large and is pointed and pike-like in appearance. The gill-covers do not have spines and are covered with small scales. The two dorsal fins are widely separated, with the first having five spines and the second having one spine and nine soft rays. The second dorsal fin equals the anal fin in size and is situated more or less above it. The lateral line is prominent and extends straight from head to tail. The spinous dorsal fin is placed above the pelvics. The hind end of the caudal fin is forked or concave. It is set at the end of a stout peduncle. The pectoral fins are placed low down on the sides. The barracuda swim bladder is large. In general, the barracuda's coloration is dark green or grey above chalky-white below. This varies somewhat. Sometimes there is a row of darker cross-bars or black spots on each side. The fins may be yellowish or dusky. Order and suborder Barracudas belong to the great order of Perch-like fish, Perciformes. Along with the smaller grey mullets and sand smelts or atherines, barracudas form the suborder known as mugiloids. Members of this group are distinguished from the Percoids by the backward position of the pelvic fins, which are located well behind the pectorals. Behavior Barracudas occur both singly and in schools around reefs, but also appear in open seas. They are voracious predators and hunt using a classic example of lie-in-wait or ambush. They rely on surprise and short bursts of speed (up to 27mph[2]) to overrun their prey, sacrificing maneuverability. The larger barracuda are more or less solitary in their habits. Young and half-grown fish frequently congregate in shoals. Their food is composed almost totally of fishes of all kinds. Large barracudas, when gorged, may attempt to hoard a shoal of prey fishes in shallow water, where they guard over them until they are ready for another meal. Barracudas and Humans Like sharks, barracudas have long had a bad reputation as being dangerous to humans. However, unprovoked attacks on humans are extremely rare and millions of scuba divers, snorkelers and swimmers spend time with them in the water without any incidents. Barracudas sometimes do follow snorkelers and scuba divers across a reef, which can make one feel uncomfortable, but they are harmless unless provoked. Being formidable hunters, they should be respected, as barracudas are perfectly capable of defending themselves against humans that harass them. Handfeeding or trying to touch them is strongly discouraged. Spearfishing around barracudas can also be quite dangerous, as they are strongly attracted by the wounded fish. There have been isolated cases where barracudas did bite a human thinking that part of it was a fish, but these incidents are rare and are believed to be caused by bad visibility. Barracudas will stop after the first bite as humans are not their normal food source. As food They are caught as food and game fish. They are most often eaten as fillet or steak and have a strong taste like tuna or salmon. Larger species, like the great barracuda, have in some areas been implicated in cases of ciguatera food poisoning[3]. Fishing Barracudas are caught using fishing nets of various types along with trolling with lines baited with fish or other prey. The acute inquisitiveness of barracudas, together with their possessing hearty appetites, means that they will readily bite at artificial lures made up of feathers, pieces of colored rag, etc. Trolling for barracuda is a favorite sport on the coast of Florida. Here they are also caught on rod and line from stationary boats. The record for a hook and line caught great barracuda is 1.7 meter (5.5 ft), weighing 44 kilogram (103 lbs). This month's winner is Vinny Morris from Clementon, NJ.