CommonYellowfin Tuna
Thunnus albacares
Sleek torpedo-shaped fish with distinctive yellow finlets.
Did you know? Yellowfin can swim 75 km/h and dive over 500m deep.
- Size
- 2.4 m
- Diet
- Fish, squid
- Season
- Year-round
Best places to see one
Marine Life . 6 species
Pelagic FishBig schools, big speed, big blue.
Fast-swimming open-water fish make appearances on most offshore boat dives. Tuna, barracuda, and trevally schools are highlights at Elphinstone, Sataya, or the southern reefs.
6Species in this groupBestYear-round (more active in summer)
Where6 dive sites
About pelagic fish
Pelagic fish live in the open ocean rather than on the reef itself. Schooling barracuda, tuna shoals, and rainbow runners are the wide-angle photographer's favourite.
The species
Every pelagic fish you can meet in Marsa Alam.
Common
CommonDogtooth Tuna
Gymnosarda unicolor
Large, fast pelagic with prominent canine teeth. Solitary or in small groups along reef drop-offs.
Did you know? Despite the name, they are not true tuna.
- Size
- 2.5 m
- Diet
- Fish, squid
- Season
- Summer
Best places to see one
CommonGreat Barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Iconic predator with long silver body and visible teeth. Often forms schools that swirl in a tornado pattern.
Did you know? A school of barracuda is called a "battery".
- Size
- 2 m
- Diet
- Reef fish
- Season
- Year-round
Best places to see one
CommonGiant Trevally
Caranx ignobilis
Bulky silver predator. Often hunts in packs along walls, herding bait fish against the reef.
Did you know? GTs are famous for stealing fish off lines - and snatching birds from the surface.
- Size
- 1.7 m, 80 kg
- Diet
- Fish, crustaceans
- Season
- Year-round
Best places to see one
CommonRainbow Runner
Elagatis bipinnulata
Elongated body with two blue lines along its sides. Forms fast-moving schools at offshore reefs.
Did you know? They often shadow larger predators to catch scraps.
- Size
- 1.3 m
- Diet
- Fish, squid, crustaceans
- Season
- Year-round
Best places to see one
RareIndo-Pacific Sailfish
Istiophorus platypterus
The fastest fish in the ocean. Long bill and enormous dorsal "sail" raised when hunting.
Did you know? Clocked at 110 km/h - faster than a cheetah.
- Size
- 3.5 m
- Diet
- Schooling fish
- Season
- Summer
Best places to see one
