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Sphyraena ensis

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA ACTINOPTERYGII PERCIFORMES SPHYRAENIDAE

Scientific Name: Sphyraena ensis
Species Authority: Jordan & Gilbert, 1882
Common Name/s:
English – Barracuda, Mexican barracuda, Mexican barracuda (FB)
French – Bécune mexicaine
Spanish – Barracuda, Barracuda mexicana, Barracuda picúa, Picuda, Picuda picúa

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published: 2010
Assessor/s: Robertson, R., Collette, B., Molina, H. & Guzman-Mora, A.G.
Reviewer/s: Carpenter, K., Polidoro, B. & Livingstone, S. (Global Marine Species Assessment Team)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
This species is common and widespread in the tropical eastern Pacific. There are no known threats. This species is listed as Least Concern.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: This species is present in the eastern Pacific from southern California to the southwestern and central eastern Gulf of California to northern Chile, and is seen rarely at Malpelo.
Countries:
Native:
Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Peru; United States
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Pacific – eastern central; Pacific – southeast
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: This is a common species in artisanal fisheries in Panama (Sommer 1995). There is no other population information available for this species.
Population Trend: Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: This pelagic species is fairly common (Sommer 1995); it is found in the continental shelf (CENAIM 1992). According to Cooke (1992), this species may occasionally be found in middle estuaries, mangroves and bar-formed lagoons along the tropical eastern Pacific region. It is usually found in schools. It is found to 25m.
Systems: Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): There are no known threats for this species.


This species is an important commercial fish in Golfo de Montijo, Panama (Vega 2004). It is an important food fish in Mexico, the USA (Sommer 1995), and Colombia. Most of the Mexican production is frozen for export (Sommer 1995).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: There are no known species specific conservation measures for this species. However, this species' distribution includes a number of Marine Protected Areas in the tropical eastern Pacific region.
Citation: Robertson, R., Collette, B., Molina, H. & Guzman-Mora, A.G. 2010. Sphyraena ensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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