Barracuda Attack

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Cudabait

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
1,325
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Location
Houston, Texas, Bay Islands, Honduras
# of dives
I'm a Fish!
On Feb. 22, 2003, I was attacked by a 4' barracuda at Utila, Honduras. It was unprovoked, no spearfishing, etc. (Documented with PADI & DAN) I am very interested in hearing of any other barracuda attacks, worldwide. According to research I have done, there have been 29 reported attacks since 1873. Nineteen have been substantiated. Mine is number 20. If any of you have any information which is of interest, please post a reply.
 
I would be interested n hearing more about your accident if you wouldn't mind sharing. What happened exactly and how bad did you get injured?

My sister's friend was at the beach some where in the bahamas and a baracuda mistook her ankle bracelet for a shiny little fish and caused severe tendon damage.
 
Wendy once bubbled...
My sister's friend was at the beach some where in the bahamas and a baracuda mistook her ankle bracelet for a shiny little fish and caused severe tendon damage.


This is interesting. In many parts of the world, diveshops recommend against wearing jewelry during dives because cudas are attracted to teh shine. However, in Asia the Baracuda don't seem to be interested in Jewelry. I've never heard anyone caution against wearing it in the water. Is it really that they are more docile here I wonder?
 
Amongst my dive buddies, the sign for Barracuda is to pinch your earlobes, because I inevitably forget to take off my earrings, and remember when I see one. Yeesh.

They are truly the only sea creature I have met that I am a little afraid of.
 
I saw on a tv show, I believe it was on the Discovery channel which told of a story of a woman who almost lost her arm from a barracuda bite. Severe bleeding and her arm was held together by what remains of her tendons. Fortunately doctors were able to save her arm.

She was cleaning the bottom side of her boat from barnacles with a knife. The sun's rays glinting off the knife must of been mistaken as a fish by the barracuda.
 
A girl was removing a fish from her pole spear in the Bahamas...cuda took the fish and her hand.

About 2 years ago I snagged a lobster in West Palm...this cuda got really close obviously eyeing the lobster...Thinking about that incident, I hid the lobster behind while trying to open the lobster bag with my other hand...then quickly stashed the lobster in the bag...the cuda then left the scene

Another incident...wife and I took our 20ft Cobia out to a super little reef I found off Marathon with lotsa grouper and snapper...got overboard with the speargun and these 2 huge cuda appeared...they would not leave us alone...we decided quickly to exit the water...the cuda blocked our dive plateform opening their mouths ominously whenever we approched. We redescended after wife tried to exit unsuccessfully over the gunale of the boat...Figuring they were territorial, I pulled the anchor loose and drifted off the reef....they didn't follow...yet..we got back into the boat...then they reappeared circling the boat, they were huge....boat was 20ft long, they were both significantly longer then half that length, I would say 12 to 14 ft. Wife gets pissed and hits one the head with the blunt end of a pole...all you hear is "Klunk" ...didn't phase him a bit!

We pulled anchor and headed back...last time I tried to spearfish and purchased our fish at the fish market
 
Attack of the Killer Barracuda's. You must be joking. I have dove with barracudas around me plenty of times, both spearfishing and diving. Never heard of them blocking any dive platforms with jaws gaping. Com'on....
 
Sure, if you have a bleeding fish on your spear, they are going to get excited. You don't say whether you had anything on your spear. People, barracuda, are nasty looking, but all they will do is make a sudden grab for your fish, or your jewelry, if you decide to wear it (foolish). The biggest barracuda I have ever seen were maybe 7 feet long off the Dry Tortugas islands. A twelve foot barracuda is truly an unheard of size.

http://www.uga.edu/cuda/morphology.html
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/GreatBarracuda/GreatBarracuda.html

I would say you were visited by some reef sharks, or it was the old 1/3 closer, 1/3 bigger rule.
 
While diving a year ago march off Fort Lauderdale a cuda made an offensive dart torwards me. I had rounded the bow of the shipwreck I was diving and panned this three footer with my 10 watt HID light. It turned and darted right for me. I rolled to one side and punched it as it passed my face. After that I went and surounded myself with other divers. Figured my odds would be better :)

Another note I was bitten by a turtle a few years ago while diving Pensacola Florida. That was an unprovoked attack. No spear fishing or harsassment, I was just hanging out in the water column. Then this big A#$ turtle bit my arm.

These two event have reminded me of my highschools biology classes. Brings to mind the food chain. Well I figure when I am diving the ocean that I am no longer at the top. I guess that is why I love to dive cold, fresh water. I don't have to worry about being eaten!

Kevin
 
As a DM I was helping an instructor with a group of five divers on a night dive at Utila Honduras, 2-22-03, about 7:45 PM. The dive had been uneventful, routine night dive. We had been to about 60' following sand contour where it meets the reef and looking at all the creatures, etc. We worked our way along the sand to shallow water about 20' deep. We had come about 5' off the bottom and were beginning our safety stop. Boom!!!! I thought I had been hit by a boat that I did not hear coming. I was bordering on unconciousness and mentally talking to my self to remain concious. I sank to the sand where I recovered my regulator and purged. My mask remined on my face but was flooded and would only clear to the bridge of my nose. Full of blood and salt water. I could see, was concious and remained cool. Within seconds the instructor was in front of me and signaled if I was OK. Obviously I signaled something was wrong but I was OK. What a great guy. He did everything we have both been trained to do by the book. He was not sure of my condition or how long I could remain concious so he immediately got behind me and did an unconcious diver surface. Pretty cool, Huh? Upon surfacing, I asked him what had hit me. He said I had been attacked by a barracuda. (He had seen the attack) We had about 50 meters to swim to the boat. With BCD inflated I was able to make it to the boat. Got to the boat, got in, signaled all the other divers up and away we went to the first aid station at the hyperbaric chamber on Utila. What happened: For over 40 years of diving, some commercial, I have always worn dark equipment. Within the three months preceding the attack, my wife and I had bought totally clear silicon masks. Great masks. Jeff, the instructor, had the fish in his light and the barracuda was posturing and acting very agressively. As Jeff moved his light off the fish, the animal exploded into my face and mask. The lower jaw struck my regulator, knocking it from my mouth. The upper jaw struck my mask in the area of the corner of my right eye. Teeth from the upper jaw tore thru the mask and through my nose, cutting two small arteries. (I lost a ton of blood) The personnel at the first aid station were not able to stop the bleeding. They finally sent for Jose Guerra, a Cuban Doctor woking in the public health clinic to help. He immediatly learned I speak Spanish and twenty minutes later he had most of the arterial bleeding stopped and had sewed me up. It took me two more days to get back to Houston. Thanks also go out to my wife, Ann an EFR trained AOW diver. The rest of this adventure is also somewhat interesting. I sure do appreciate the interest from all of you. I'll finish the saga in other updates. I have seen thousands of barracuda. Have speared and eaten my fair share. The largest I have ever seen was a little over seven feet and probably went 110 or 115 lbs. This was off the north coast of Venezuela. a ten or twelve foot barracuda would be a spectacular sight!!! Steroids, anyone?? Again, I appreciate all the interest, I'll finish the strory and try to answer any questions. As a newby to this board, it appears to me that is what it is about. Besafe, ya'll.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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