Guinean Barracuda


Whole Guinean Barracuda [Kuta (Nigeria); Sphyraena afra]

This predatory fish can be found from just south of Morocco all the way around to northern Namibia. It can grow to 80 inches and 100 pounds, but is more commonly 40 inches (100 cm). It is a minor commercial fish, caught with low-tech fishing gear, Nigeria accounting for most of the catch. This fish does not generally present a Ciguatera risk, but being a Mackerel, it does still present a Scombroid risk if mishandled. This fish can take care of itself and is IUNC Red List LC (Least Concern).   Photo by Jeff Camrrubi (cropped) published under license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial v3.0 Unported.

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Preparation & Cooking

  See Pacific Barracuda for details.

Kuta


Smoke Dried Barracuda West Africa is traditionally lacking ice or refrigeration, so most fish is Smoke Dried. Fish so processed are very popular in West Africa to flavor soups and stews. Small ones are smoked whole and look very fierce, but large ones have to be cut up before smoking. Fortunately, the coast of West Africa is not a reef environment, so even large Barracuda should be safe to eat. The photo specimen was a chunk 7 inches long and weighing 14-3/4 ounces. It was purchased on-line for 2018 US $14.99 / pound.

More on Smoke Dried Fish.

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