Dogtooth Tuna

Photo: Jens Sommer-Knudsen · CC BY-NC

Dogtooth tuna patrol the deeper flanks of the pinnacle between November and April, their powerful streamlined bodies cutting through the current as they hunt the fusilier schools that aggregate here. These large open-water predators can exceed 130 cm in length and create visible waves of panic through the fusilier schools with each hunting pass. Their presence on the pinnacle is tied to the cooler, cleaner water that upwells on the northeastern side of the reef during the dry season.