A nine-year-old Key West girl is recovering from hand surgery this week after a barracuda bit her during a family snorkeling trip.While rare, says George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida and the state’s Museum of Natural History, he hears of barracuda attacks occasionally.
Burgess says there are predictable situations when the fish, which have razor-sharp teeth and can grow to six-feet long, will attack. They will jump into a boat to chase smaller fish on an angler’s line, Burgess says.”Sometimes a barracuda has an escape strategy, when it’s caught on a hook and it will jump out of the water to try and pull the hook out.” And it’s not unusual for barracudas to come by when a free meal is on a scuba diver’s arrow, he says.
Burgess says barracuda will slice a hooked fish in half “like a buzz saw.”They don’t target humans. But to avoid a sharp encounter with the silver Great Barracuda that Burgess calls “stalkers.”
Watch for barracuda when disturbing another fish’s habitat.”Even underwater, you can hear the crunch of bone,” Burgess says. “It’ll spook you when you hear that. If we scare a parrotfish from its hole, the barracuda will dive for it.”
Don’t wear jewelry under water, and use dark gloves when diving.”These things equate light glinting off a ring or necklace as light coming off the scales of a fish,” Burgess says. “Same with your palms. I’ve had little ones tap the glass of my mask because it reflects like a mirror.”
Before rinsing blood or slime off hands, look over the edge of the boat.”‘Cudas could already be there when there’s blood in the water from your catch,” he said.
And when reeling in a fish, “If you know it’s a barracuda, be aware it could torpedo out of the water and knock you down,” he said. “Remember that they are there all of the time, one of the more common large fish around. You need to be smart. They are not voracious attackers of humans, but being aware you can reduce your risk.”
