There are possible threats from commercial and sports fishing although it is unknown how this impacts the population. There is an annual migration from California south to Baja California in the winter which takes them to areas in the tropical eastern Pacific without fishing restrictions. ENSO events have been shown to expand the range and to depress the population (California Department of Fish and Game 2001).


There are intensive directed commercial and sports fisheries for barracudas in the tropical eastern Pacific. They are caught with hook and line and with purse seines.