Pelican Barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes
Pelican Barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes. Fish caught from coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, December 2023. Length: 46 cm (18 inches). Identification courtesy of Dr. Ben Victor, Coralreeffish.com.
Pelican Barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, July 2007. This catch documents a significant range extension for the species into the coastal waters of Southwest Baja. Length: 51 cm (20 inches). Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
Pelican Barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes. Fish caught from coastal waters within Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, November 2017. This catch documents a significant range extension for the species into the northern Sea of Cortez. Length: 53 cm (21 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California. Identification reconfirmed by Kurt Schaefer, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, California.
The Pelican Barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes, is a member of the Barracuda or Sphyraenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as barracuda pelícano. Globally, there are twenty-six species in the genus Sphyraena, of which eight are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic Ocean and five in the Pacific Ocean.
The Pelican Barracuda has an overall barracuda-like appearance, predominant silver coloration, and the presence of about 20 faint, dark bands on their upper sides. The caudal fin is gray with a dark edge. They have a long head with a large mouth that ends just before the eyes, a long pointed snout, and a protruding lower jaw. Their caudal fin is deeply forked; the pelvic fins provide a key identification characteristic, as they originate behind the pectoral fins and under the first dorsal fin. Their are short pectoral fins with 13 rays.
The Pelican Barracuda is a pelagic species that are found in and around reefs at depths up to 23 m (75 feet). They reach a maximum 1.0 m (3 feet 3 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 0.79 kg (1 lb 12 ounces) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur in June 2021. The Pelican Barracuda is a very rare species and is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Pelican Barracuda have historically been thought to reside only in the waters off the coast of Peru. The collection photographed above was made 40 miles north of Cabo San Lucas in the Pacific, which documents a significant northerly range extension for this species. I have also caught the fish in La Bocana (26°3’45” North, 112°17’12” West) along the northern coast of Baja California Sur and Chris Wheaton recently caught one in Bahia de Los Angeles (which is pictured above).
The Pelican Barracudas can be confused with the Blackfin Barracuda, Sphyraena qenie (dark anal, caudal and dorsal fins, 13 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted under the pectoral fins and before the first dorsal fin), the Cortez Barracuda, Sphyraena lucasana (pale caudal fin, 16 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted behind the pectoral fins and under the first dorsal fin), the Mexican Barracuda, Sphyraena ensis (gray caudal fin, 13 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted under the tips of the pectoral fins and before the dorsal fin), and the Pacific Barracuda, Sphyraena argentea (yellow caudal fin, 16 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted behind the pectoral fins and before the first dorsal fin).
From a conservation perspective the Pelican Barracuda is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable widely distributed populations. They are viewed by locals to be of poor food value.