Pacific barracuda (Sphyraena argentea) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of ≤ 37 m.
Scientific name: Sphyraena argentea · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 120 cm
Weight: up to 6.8 kg
The Pacific barracuda (Sphyraena argentea), also called the California barracuda or silver barracuda, is a predatory sphyraenid with an elongated, cylindrical body, a very slender profile with a long pointy snout and pale bluish to pale brown scale colouring, distinct from other barracudas in its silvery sheen. It is found in the northeast Pacific, most frequently along the coast of California down to the southern tip of Baja California Sur and around Guadalupe Island, and although considered pelagic it works closer to shore as an adult, with young fish sometimes in bays and lagoons and deeper-swimming fish recorded at about 37 m. It feeds aggressively on small fishes such as anchovies, small Pacific mackerels, grunions and squid, schooling tightly to herd prey, and during winter it migrates in shoals south from the American west coast to Baja California. In the United States it is a celebrated southern California boat and pier game fish — locally simply "barracuda" — taken on live bait, jigs and trolled lures, reaching about 1.2 m and 6.8 kg, with the average fish 1–1.1 m and 1–3 kg.
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