Natural body marks on Sphyraena barracuda were recorded with digital images to identify individual fish. Over 18 months, 60 fish were photographed in situ, eight of which were rephotographed at later dates. Re-photographed fish were all large adults (>70 cm total length) and were all seen within 200 m of the site where they were originally observed 10-318 days prior. Over the same period and area, 116 fish were tagged using T-bar tags, yet none of these fish were recaptured. Natural body marks are thus an effective means of identifying and monitoring behaviour of individuals.

No abstract