Great barracuda

Photo: Tyler Moss · CC BY-NC

A solitary apex predator recognisable by its elongated, torpedo-shaped body, large mouth and dagger-like teeth. The River Taw hosts several resident individuals that station themselves at the bow and wheelhouse superstructure, apparently using the wreck as both a landmark and a hunting station from which to ambush schooling fish. Barracuda are highly territorial with home ranges encompassing individual wrecks. Their long lifespans — up to 14 years — mean that individual fish observed at the River Taw may have inhabited the wreck for many years. Flesh in the region carries moderate ciguatera risk.