There are other fish to fry. That might have been the guidance given when a small fish appeared in a net on a recent educational outing in Sengekontacket Pond. The fish in question, identified as a northern sennet, is a species that is not an everyday find in local waters and not known for its edibility.

There are, in fact, only a few scientifically documented occurrences of northern sennets in our waters. In one case, a northern sennet was found on Nauset Beach on the Cape in 1930 and another fish was identified in Nantucket Harbor in 2023. INaturalist lists only four sightings of northern sennets, though angler websites report them from time to time.

I asked my favorite commercial fisherman if he sees northern sennets regularly. His answer was telling. He shared that he “had to Google what they were” and followed up with, “No, I don’t remember ever catching one.”

Massachusetts is the northern portion of this fish’s range and, if any, it is most common to see young of the year fish (juveniles) in the months of July through December in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay.

Northern sennets (sphyraena borealis) are also called sennets and northern barracuda. The term sennet also has a nonaquatic theatrical meaning and is defined as the signal call from a trumpet or cornet to exit or enter the stage.

Wandering farther afield here — folks on our sister island may be interested to know that a similar term for a trumpet flourish is a “tucket.” This fish’s scientific name translates loosely as “the name of a fish from the North”. Borealis means northern but also is the name of the Greek God of the North Wind who was notorious for his bad temper, violent outbursts and abduction of mortal princess Oreithyia.

While sennets are members of the aggressive and predacious barracuda family (and genus) of fish, their behavior is not as intentionally evil as their namesake god. Within the barracuda club are almost 30 species recognized by their sleek, torpedo-like body, sharp teeth and pointed head.

A small sennet, this northern-named variety is fierce and, even with those tearing teeth, grows only to just over one foot, so is not a threat to humans. It is a different story for the small fish and squid that are the sennet’s prey.

Hunting by sight more than by smell, sennets are attracted to shiny objects, especially targeting silvery and luminescent species. Their mouth is filled with dozens of teeth and some of those denticles point backwards to prevent their slippery prey from escaping their mouth. They also have a significant underbite (the lower jaw juts out past the upper jaw) making sennets look even more fearsome.

As coastal dwellers, sennets inhabit inshore waters to two hundred feet. They prefer muddy bottoms and the juvenile fish can often be found in seagrass beds. Usually schooling fish, this sample was found as a single.

After sharing the curious fish with the group gathered, the solitary specimen was returned to the pond to swim another day. It was a stroke of luck to find an occasional sennet in regional waters in the first place, so catch-and-release was definitely the proper course for this in-seine find.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.