2016 Barracuda Near Attack, looking for causes

[Dave Bevan]

I have seen this kind of behaviour a lot in the red sea. The big baracudas follow divers. A lot of the time the diver isn't even aware they are there. I have seen them lunge for the bubbles and I've had one lunge for my DSMB. Although I've never seen anything that would be described as an attack.

Also the great baracuda I see when hunting tend to stay low in the reef and attack upwards. The behaviour you are describing is more a scavenging type behaviour.

It also may be learned if you have spearfishermen nearby.

 

[Texasguy]

Don't think they view a much larger animal as a prey. Though, with them you must act like you are bigger too. Running haphazardly away is not it.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

I dive with big cudas regularly here in Fla. The behavior you described was completely typical. It is not at all unusual for big cudas to follow divers or snorkelers around, at a fixed distance, for some minutes. There is nothing threatening or dangerous about this behavior. If you try to approach, they back off, if you try to swim away, they just follow along until they feel like going somewhere else.

The real risk here was your reaction, not being familiar with the behavior of the species. Your own observations showed the fish was shadowing you with no aggressive attempt to strike, but you could not process that information. You built up the danger in your mind as the stress of the unexpected long swim and distance from shore began to spook you. Throwing away gear you need to get safely to shore (your fins) was a terrible idea and you are lucky there were people around to assist as it seems you were in a borderline panic situation.

 

[PatW]

I am an underwater photographer. Barracuda even large ones can be hard to approach closely enough for a good photo. Usually, they will retreat and maintain a distance. I found that if I turned an swam towards the barracuda, it quickly retreated.

I have experienced barracuda shadowing me in shallow water whilst I was snorkeling. It might just be curiosity. It might be hoping that the large strange critter will flush some prey.

Now in the seventies I was free diving on a. reef in the keys. I approached an enormous barracuda about 8'. I expected it to retreat. It did not. It flared its gills and clacked its jaws. I took that to mean " back off varmint". So I did.

In my reading, barracuda attacks are extremely rare. Humans just do not seem to be on the menu.

 

[scrane]

Facing a barracuda, eye to eye, is the kind of thing that many of us dive for.

Living in the USVI for a year and mostly unemployed I would often go out with a Hawaiian Sling to catch some lunch. Many expeditions were detoured or aborted due to the presence of opportunistic barracuda. A barracuda hovering 20 feet away could be looking over your shoulder almost instantaneously if you drew down on a fish.

Personally, I would give a barracuda more credit than mistaking your fins for something edible.

Years ago, before any form of mass transportation became the focus of intense scrutiny, my son and I were snorkeling beneath the cruise ship dock in Cozumel on an off day. We shared our swim with four or five of the biggest barracuda I'd ever seen. It was quite remarkable!

 

[Charlie Vergos]

I dive with big cudas regularly here in Fla. The behavior you described was completely typical. It is not at all unusual for big cudas to follow divers or snorkelers around, at a fixed distance, for some minutes. There is nothing threatening or dangerous about this behavior. If you try to approach, they back off, if you try to swim away, they just follow along until they feel like going somewhere else.

The real risk here was your reaction, not being familiar with the behavior of the species. Your own observations showed the fish was shadowing you with no aggressive attempt to strike, but you could not process that information. You built up the danger in your mind as the stress of the unexpected long swim and distance from shore began to spook you. Throwing away gear you need to get safely to shore (your fins) was a terrible idea and you are lucky there were people around to assist as it seems you were in a borderline panic situation.

Yeah, I agree with a lot of your analysis. Before I even saw the fish, I was kinda spooked about how far I was from shore. Also, being alone probably made it worse.

I will say, I threw my snorkel off because how fast I was swimming, it was only getting water so it was just easier to breathe without it. And when I threw my fins off, the water was only about 5-6 feet deep in kinda of an inlet without much current, so with the exception of the choppiness of the surface, swimming conditions weren't too difficult and when I saw the barracuda had left, I was able to float in the surface and catch my breath.

I'm glad to hear it was typical behavior. I had been diving with them before, but had never had one interact with me before. I knew attacks were very rare and almost unheard of unprovoked, but, not being familiar with that behavior and seeing the size of it, it's hard not to have the greatest respect for them in that situation.

 

[Steve_C]

There was one time snorkeling in bermuda by myself where I saw a pair of large barracuda hanging over a coral head watching me from a distance. I slowly swam over closer. At about 10 ft one of them turned side ways and assumed a posture that was very different. Reminded me of a dog or possum or many other animals when they go into a defensive posture. I said ok you do not look relaxed and happy, you are as long as I am and have much sharper teeth. I turned and slowly swam off. Cuda resumed its original relaxed posture. It's their world. If they want to follow me, fine, I enjoy the company. If they want to be left alone, fine, I will gladly leave them alone.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Hi Charlie,

I did not mean to take any shot at you. In fact, we all owe you a debt of gratitude for your detailed recollection and honesty about the events and your thoughts and emotions during what happened, because it gives us an invaluable and fully explained example of how things can go wrong that we can all learn from

The "chain of decisions/events" leading to tragedies is a crucially important concept often discussed in this forum, but often by speculation after the fact ie "what could have led to this tragedy?" Your case gives all of us an excellent illustration and learning experience. By the way because you were "just" snorkeling does not mean you were at less risk that a scuba diver--the principles are the same.

My analysis of this chain of decisions would be:

1. Diving beyond limits: here, too far from shore, and without a buddy, and insufficient knowledge of the behavior of the animals you might encounter.
2. Leads to anxiety and reduced judgment, but decision is made to continue the dive.
3. An erroneously perceived or exaggerated danger appears or occurs (the cuda, coupled with not having sufficient information about cuda behavior)
3. Elevates stress and Impairs situational awareness (not processing that the fish was not attacking even though that fact was clearly observed)
4. The "flight" response triggers, with escalating stress (rushing to shore, flooding your snorkel, losing control of your gear even though you are observing that the fish is not attacking).
5. A panic response ensues, which is abandonment of your life support gear, in your case snorkel and fins, but there are reported instances of scuba divers trying to surface in a panic actually spitting out and rejecting their regulators.

As it happened, for which we are all grateful, the panic response happened when you were in an area where the adverse consequences could be controlled. But, as all of us divers know, even in six feet of water, one gulp of saltwater from a flooded snorkel or the choppy surface, or a leg cramp after abandoning the fins, and it could have turned out very differently. If you had been found drowned, with no snorkel or fins, everyone would be asking "how could this have happened?"

Here, the chain of events could have been cut off at step 1 or 2. Either taking the time to appreciate how far the actual swim was, or finding a buddy, or, once you had the first unease that it was more than you expected, turning back at once (ie thumbing the dive).

Again, another real-world example of the immense value of careful thought before you do a dive, and, if you do, thumbing any dive at once, upon the first sign of anxiety.

Thank you for sharing this.

 

[Asteve]

Years ago was snorkeling in the Bahamas with a local guy, he was showing me how to get lobster. He went down about 30 feet and grab a ledge and was looking under it when a 5 foot Barracuda swim up to him and stop between the ledge and the guy head, looking under the ledge too. The local took the back end of the pole spear he was using, poking at Barracuda not try to hit him. it swam off about 2 feet to continual to watch. Talking later the local said they were just curiosity and never had a problem with them.

 

[Charlie Vergos]

Hi Charlie,

I did not mean to take any shot at you. In fact, we all owe you a debt of gratitude for your detailed recollection and honesty about the events and your thoughts and emotions during what happened, because it gives us an invaluable and fully explained example of how things can go wrong that we can all learn from

The "chain of decisions/events" leading to tragedies is a crucially important concept often discussed in this forum, but often by speculation after the fact ie "what could have led to this tragedy?" Your case gives all of us an excellent illustration and learning experience. By the way because you were "just" snorkeling does not mean you were at less risk that a scuba diver--the principles are the same.

My analysis of this chain of decisions would be:

1. Diving beyond limits: here, too far from shore, and without a buddy, and insufficient knowledge of the behavior of the animals you might encounter.
2. Leads to anxiety and reduced judgment, but decision is made to continue the dive.
3. An erroneously perceived or exaggerated danger appears or occurs (the cuda, coupled with not having sufficient information about cuda behavior)
3. Elevates stress and Impairs situational awareness (not processing that the fish was not attacking even though that fact was clearly observed)
4. The "flight" response triggers, with escalating stress (rushing to shore, flooding your snorkel, losing control of your gear even though you are observing that the fish is not attacking).
5. A panic response ensues, which is abandonment of your life support gear, in your case snorkel and fins, but there are reported instances of scuba divers trying to surface in a panic actually spitting out and rejecting their regulators.

As it happened, for which we are all grateful, the panic response happened when you were in an area where the adverse consequences could be controlled. But, as all of us divers know, even in six feet of water, one gulp of saltwater from a flooded snorkel or the choppy surface, or a leg cramp after abandoning the fins, and it could have turned out very differently. If you had been found drowned, with no snorkel or fins, everyone would be asking "how could this have happened?"

Here, the chain of events could have been cut off at step 1 or 2. Either taking the time to appreciate how far the actual swim was, or finding a buddy, or, once you had the first unease that it was more than you expected, turning back at once (ie thumbing the dive).

Again, another real-world example of the immense value of careful thought before you do a dive, and, if you do, thumbing any dive at once, upon the first sign of anxiety.

Thank you for sharing this.

Really appreciate the thorough response. And yeah, no grief taken, this is exactly what I was looking for when I posted this. I think the high visibility, shallow calm water, and lack of any major sea life prior to that point contributed to a false sense of security.

Additionally, there might have been a bit of distance deception at play. I thought the reef was much closer. Afterwards, the person who owned the house told us that kayakers always try to head out to the islands off shore (near where the reef was) and they always end up realizing they're much farther than they appear once they start heading out that way.