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Blackfin Barracuda

Blackfin Barracuda

Sphyraena Qenie

Quick Facts

Scientific nameSphyraena Qenie

Other namesChevron Barracuda

FamilyBarracuda / Sphyraenidae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionLagoons & seaward reefs

The Blackfin Barracuda is a long, silver predator built for speed, with a body marked by about 20 dark, chevron-shaped bars running along its sides. The tail fin is mostly black, which is one of the easiest ways to tell it apart from other barracudas.
In Australia, Blackfin Barracuda are found from Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia across the tropical north. They extend down the east coast as far as the Solitary Islands in New South Wales.
This species likes current-swept reef edges and the outer walls of lagoons. It is most often seen in clear, open water close to the reef rather than tucked away in sheltered bays.
Blackfin Barracuda are famous for gathering in large, slow-moving schools during the day. These schools can return to exactly the same spot on the reef for months or even years at a time.
Despite looking like a fish on the move, these schools are largely still during daylight hours. The fish tend to hang in the water together, barely drifting, as if they are resting before the night ahead.
When darkness falls, the schools break up. Blackfin Barracuda are thought to scatter and hunt alone or in smaller groups through the night.
They feed mainly on other fish and sit near the top of the reef food chain. This means they hunt many other animals, while only a few larger predators are likely to hunt them.
Spawning is thought to follow the pattern of other barracudas, with large numbers gathering and moving to specific spawning areas at certain times of year. The species is not well studied in detail at this stage.
The lower jaw ends in a fleshy, pointed tip that juts forward slightly. Look at the rear edge of an adult’s tail fin and you may spot a pair of small lobes near the middle — a detail that helps separate this species from similar-looking barracudas.
Identifying the Blackfin Barracuda with confidence can be tricky, even for experts. It is regularly confused with the Giant Seapike and the Sawtooth Barracuda, which means its true range across the Indo-Pacific is still not fully mapped.
Like other large barracudas, this species carries a risk of ciguatera poisoning if eaten. Ciguatera is a toxin that builds up in fish that feed on reef fish, and it cannot be removed by cooking.
The Blackfin Barracuda has very low resilience, meaning its populations are slow to recover if numbers drop. This is consistent with other large, long-lived predators at the top of the reef food web.

Species Interaction

Blackfin Barracuda: A Reef Predator Divers Often Encounter

Snorkelling & Diving
Commercial Harvest
Research & Rare Encounters
Ecosystem Role
Recreational Fishing

The Blackfin Barracuda is primarily known to divers and snorkellers as an impressive reef and pelagic predator of Indo-Pacific coral reefs, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Occasionally taken as bycatch in commercial pelagic longline and prawn fisheries, it registers very low catch rates and poses minimal risk to those fisheries. Its role as a high-level piscivore makes it ecologically significant on coral reef systems, though little species-specific research has been published.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Carangaria incertae sedis
Family: Sphyraenidae
Genus: Sphyraena
Species: Sphyraena qenie

Conservation Status

The Blackfin Barracuda has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List, and it holds no listing under Australia’s EPBC Act. Its conservation status is therefore unclassified. The species is not well documented as a distinct taxon, partly because it is frequently confused with related barracuda species across its Indo-Pacific range.