Pelagic fish
Chevron barracuda
Sphyraena qenie
A schooling barracuda that forms dense, slow-rotating columns on reef corners in current — a different animal from the solitary great barracuda divers meet on shallow reef. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Maratua's atoll channel holds one of the larger reported schools in Southeast Asia.
- Max size
- To about 1.4m
- Habitat
- Reef channels, drop-offs and current-swept corners
Best places to dive with Chevron barracuda
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Schooling barracuda are one of the consistent draws on the Brunei and Labuan hulls, reported hanging over the superstructures and drifting in from open water. Coded resident because sources describe them as a standing feature of the wrecks rather than a seasonal event; school size is not documented.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Schools are reported year-round at the mouth of the Maratua channel and are most reliable when tidal flow is running. Operator accounts describe the aggregation as among the largest in the region; no published count exists, so treat the size claim as unverified.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Schools of chevron (blackfin) barracuda are reported year-round at Balicasag, most often at Black Forest and Divers Heaven, frequently in the same water as the trevally school. Numbers vary and the school sometimes sits deep on the slope.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Schools may pass current-facing thilas; not a dependable feature on every dive.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Schools are regularly reported around current-fed pinnacles, but published sources do not establish a seasonal peak.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | not seen |
| February | not seen |
| March | not seen |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | not seen |
| December | not seen |
Schooling barracuda are regularly described at current-swept pinnacles, especially Tokong Laut. School size and presence depend on current.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Barracuda schools may gather at current-exposed offshore sites. Published sources do not establish a Tioman seasonal peak.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Schools are a signature possibility at Apollo and other Una Una sites, but they are not guaranteed and no defensible seasonal peak was found.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Schools may hold off the channel mouths in current. Reports are site-based and do not establish a monthly season.
Sources & last checked
Checked August 2026
Research is source-backed, but conditions and fees should still be confirmed locally.
View 2 sources and checking notes
- Best Scuba Diving in Brunei, Scuba Diver Life
- Diving in Brunei - Discover The Historical Shipwrecks, Poni Divers