The nature and even the timing and location of spawning in great barracuda has never been documented and we're left with no other choice than to make educated guesses as to when, where, and how. The same is true of many shark species, because of the difficulty associated with following and observing large open-water predators. What little evidence exists suggests that spawning is completed over deeper water, away from the reef areas barracuda are often associated with, and that the resulting larvae are consequently at the mercy of tide and current. Some sources present evidence that great barracuda spawn at certain times of the year, such as during the spring in the Florida Keys. Others claim that they spawn in association with particular phases of the moon, as Palauan fishing lore related by the late ethno-ichthyologist, Robert Johannes, states. Still others (including barracuda expert Donald de Sylva, referring to South Florida) state that spawning activity seems to occur throughout the year with the exception of the cooler winter months. In this case, one might expect water temperature to be an important determinant of spawning but not necessarily expect to find the kind of population coordination that might result in synchronized offshore movement. Barracuda may very well spawn more than once during a season.

The overall picture is that our knowledge of this facet of barracuda life is astoundingly incomplete and we can only speculate as to its true nature until someone is lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to witness barracudas spawning. Another possibility that should be kept in mind is that great barracuda may well show quite different spawning patterns in different parts of the world, or perhaps even in diffferent locations within an island chain.

Great barracuda do not care for their young (I don't mean that they don't like them, but that they don't show any parental care) — fertilized eggs are left to drift in ocean currents and it is in the open ocean that they develop into larvae. The great difference in appearance among larval forms, juvenile forms, and adults has been responsible for much of the confusion apparent in barracuda taxonomy. Tiny larval barracuda less than a quarter-inch in length show only hints of what is to come, but by the time the fish has reached a length of about a half inch it bears some resemblance to an adult in its overall morphology. As the juvenile matures it assumes similar pigmentation to the adult, and differential rates of growth result in changes in body proportion by the adult stage. The tail also changes shape, from a forked to a scalloped appearance, that suggests 'hard-wired' differences in feeding behavior and predominant habitat selection. Generally, great barracuda are sexually mature around two years of age, at a length of about 60 cm. Females and males (males are heavier for a given length) are indistinguishable to a human observer and we have not yet deduced a way to tell them apart, short of dissection to look at the reproductive tissue.

Barracuda may live for a long time. We do not know exactly how long great barracuda typically live, but scale analysis of specimens over four feet in length reveals that they are probably at least 14 years old.

Most of the information on this page is drawn from Donald de Sylva's 1963 paper (found in the first volume of a University of Miami publication Studies in Tropical Oceanography, that is still available from the University). The report includes extensive information on barracuda life history and systematics, as well as a summary of attacks on humans prior to the publication date. To purchase a copy, if you can't find it in a university or other library, please contact:

At the current time it will cost you US$10 plus US$3 postage (US$12 for international orders). The price may well change, as may availability.

You can also get it via the ubiquitous amazon.com, if that's more convenient. The paper's title is "Systematics and life history of the great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda (Walbaum)" and it's about 180 pages long.

For more relevant publications, you might want to check here.