They are swift and powerful, small scaled, slender in form, with two well-separated dorsal fins, a jutting lower jaw, and a large mouth with many sharp large teeth.
Barracudas are primarily fish eaters of smaller fishes, such as mullets, anchovies, and grunts.
They are good, fighting sporting fishes, and the smaller ones make good eating. In certain seas, however, lately increasingly they may become impregnated with a toxic substance that produces a form of poisoning known as ciguatera. The great barracuda is known to have been involved in attacks on swimmers. In reef areas they have been known to inhabit open waters and bay areas in the shadows, under floating objects. To avoid them, don't wear shiny objects.