The fin fish, Sharpfin barracuda (Sphyraena acutipinnis) belongs to the phylum Sphyraenidae and is a common fish used for curing. The cured barracuda is one of the economically important dried fish in Tamil Nadu and has very good domestic and export market over the past decades and this could be due to its desirable characteristics such as aroma, taste and high nutritive value.

Barracuda fishes belonging to family Sphyraenidae consists of voracious predators, are economically important and widely distributed in all equatorial, tropical and warm temperate seas. These fishes are mostly pelagic, live solitary or in schools and are capable of adaptation to diverse ecological condition. Family Sphyraenidae comonly known as barracudas include only one genus, Sphyraena and with 27 valid species globally. These fishes are exploited by various fishing gears and mainly caught in trawlnets, gillnets and outboard ringseines.

Yellowtail Barracuda fillet contains 73.12% water, 22.4% crude protein, 2.5% crude fat and 1.5% ash. Surprisingly, about 16-18% of the fatty acids in this product are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.