Great Barracuda

Photo: Phil's 1stPix · CC BY-NC

Solitary adults up to 1.5 m long station themselves along the wall edge and at the surface directly above the mooring, using the site as a territorial base from which they hunt the abundant reef fish below. Schools of juveniles form shimmering columns above the terrace, a formation that may reduce individual predation risk while they are still too small to defend territories. Barracuda at this site are unusually calm around divers, having learned that the presence of humans often flushes small fish from hiding.