• Live  between 15- 30years.

• They can easily weigh in at 350 kilos even 500kilos and can measure up to 3 meters in length.       

• Tunas feed on mackerel, herrings, squids, anchovies, & also crustacean.

• Tuna are warm-blooded and spend their entire life swimming. They never sleep day or night  but cruise constantly at 2-4 knots but can sprint and reach 20 knots when chasing prey, they are most probably some of the fastest fish in the fish kingdom.

• They are able to dive down to 900 meters and only go to the surface during the spawning season:  That is from  May – July in the Mediterranean.  Hence the fishing season, this takes place between May & June as the tunas are caught when closer to the surface.

• Tuna live in small populations and stick around with other fish of its size and are highly migratory. 

• It is believed that there are two spawning grounds for the Giant Bluefin tuna.  The Mediterranean sea and in the Gulf of Mexico, with two distinct fish populations.

• A female is mature at about 4-5 years with 3 years when kept in captivity. The female releases some 10 million eggs per year in the water near the surface and the males fertilize them. In the Mediterranean this happens between May- July when the sea temperature is between 19C – 21C 

• The giant Bluefin tunas are found in the subtropical and temperate climates in the Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Black sea.

• Tuna tend to show natal site fidelity for breeding so they tend to go back to the same location where they were born for spawning, similar to the salmon breeding and spawning phenomenon.

• Bluefin tuna are fast growing and can reach 40 kilos in  the first two years or approx 1 meter long. The average rate of growth for a Bluefin tuna is about 15 kilos per year having a high appetite during the summer months

• Juvenile Tunas being  those which are not capable to spawn, measure less than 1.3 meters. Adult Tuna are  those capable to spawn and these come of age at about 4-5 yrs

• After spawning the fertilized eggs hatch after two days and the baby tunas start to feed immediately and are fast growing.

•  Tunas are not dangerous to humans but need to be respected for what they are, so it’s best for divers and snorkellers to stay calm and just observe the fish. Let the fish come close to you and not the other way round. If attempting to feed, the tuna will not take the fish feed from your hands but the diver/ snorkeller will need to let go off the feed by throwing the fish feed  some distance away. This will ensure that the tuna does not have to come too close. Than one would need to focus on the feed and in no time a tuna will rocket in & gulp the fish whole. The whole process will last about 2 seconds, it's impressively very fast.

• No fish feeding accept the feed provided for by Marine Adventure Park will be allowed. This does not mean that every visitor will be feeding as feeding is strictly under control.

• Comments received  about the Bluefin tuna - Awesome - huge - very fast, - very powerful - well adopted - magnificent animals - never seen them before alive. 

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‘Barry’ our Giant Mediterranean Barracuda

At well over a meter in length, ‘Barry’ our giant barracuda found in one of Marine Adventure Park’s enclosures, can present a quite frightening sight to any person.

The body of this creature is long with a head almost one fifth as long as its trunk. With eighteen species of Barracudas, these animals are highly predatory fish from the Sphyraenidae family. It is often seen close to Maltese waters swimming in schools as it single-mindedly chases after its prey.

Giant barracudas prefer a more solitary life unlike their smaller counterparts; they are sole predators and are seen to hunt alone. They don’t share their prey with others, unlike the situation with the smaller barracudas more commonly found in Maltese waters which hunt in packs as wolves.

Barracuda spawn between April and September with the females laying their eggs a few at a time. The eggs are left to float free in the sea until they hatch. Male giant barracuda such as our ‘Barry’ had reached sexual maturity within the first three years after its birth; the female barracuda takes around four years to mature.

Giant  & Great Barracudas are found across the globe, except the east Pacific, the great barracuda is typical of the 18 other species of its kind. It may be distinguished from other barracuda by the black spots on its lower sides. Its body is long and slender, its head pointed, and its mouth filled with two rows of teeth.  Sometimes found in the open sea, they usually remain near the surface, though may be found as deep as 100 meters. 

Sight-oriented, Giant barracudas locate their prey visually, swimming as fast as 50 kilometers an hour to swallow small prey whole or using their teeth to consume their prey. They use their speed in short bursts as they cannot maintain this speed for long, unlike the Bluefin Tuna.

They prey on a wide variety of fish that includes anchovies, groupers, grunts, herrings, jacks, and mullets.  Not many predators are able to catch barracuda, but sharks, tuna, and large groupers may prey on smaller adults but not on the giant barracudas. 

‘Barry’ our exhibit within Marine Adventure Park is a nice specimen of the Mediterranean giant barracuda which has co-existed with the Bluefin tuna within Marine Adventure Park enclosure for the past one month. It feeds on the small fish which enter the enclosure and the tuna don’t seem to be interested in ‘ Barry’ at all.

It’s not easy to spot ‘Barry’  but if you happen to see a long and narrow fish which seem to be moving at a slower pace, unlike the Bluefin tuna than you are looking at ‘Barry’ our  giant  barracuda.

Although barracuda are formidable hunters and have a habit of curiously following divers and swimmers, attacks on humans are very rare. ‘Barry’ our giant barracuda seems to be intimidated by the presence of the Bluefin Tuna so whenever we tried to approach this fish to film it, ‘Barry’ always swam away from us. We also noticed that when snorkelers are present occupying the top part of the enclosure ‘Barry’ seem to prefer the deep end.

Also we never managed to hand feed ‘Barry’ as the tuna where always too quick to take the fish feed away from us, so we had to leave the fish feed on the bottom of the net and ‘Barry’ accepted our offer.  A free meal is always welcomed in the fish kingdom. 

At Marine Adventure Park we have decided not to hand feed the giant barracuda at all so that this fish will not associate us with food. We are certain that our giant barracuda is feeding on the small fish that enter the enclosure and on occasions we may leave some free helpings at the deep end.

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