Flying fish, long the subject of myth and legend, live in all the world’s oceans, although they are most commonly found in tropical and warm subtropical waters. If you’ve ever seen a flying fish, then you may have found yourself eagerly waiting for the next sighting, and if not, this little creature, with its incredibly long pectoral fins, might be one of the fish on your diving “bucket list.” Regarded simply as a food source in some places, and revered in others, this beautifully compelling fish deserves closer examination. Let’s take a look.
Flying Fish Basics
Also known as Exocoetidae, the family of flying fish includes more than sixty known species, all of which possess extremely long pectoral fins that make short “flights” possible. While flying fish are not capable of actual independent flight, as birds are, they are capable of soaring for incredibly long distances, with some being able to glide through the air for an average distance of fifty meters or so. In 2008, a Japanese TV crew filmed a fish gliding for 45 seconds, breaking the previous record flight of 42 seconds. Traveling at a speed of more than 40 miles per hour, some flying fish use updrafts at the leading edges of waves to cover distances as far as 400 meters in a singly leap. The highest altitude recorded is about 6 meters, or 20 feet; quite a feat for such a small creature.
In order to take flight, the flying fish move their tails rapidly – think of a hummingbird’s wings, which keep it aloft by flapping at a rate of between 12 and 90 motions per second, and you’re close – these fish wiggle their tails as many as 70 times per second while gliding upward and out of the water. As they break the surface, they spread their pectoral fins, tilting them slightly upward to provide lift. At the end of each glide, the fish either folds its fins back into place for reentry, or dips its tail into the water to provide enough force to propel it into a second glide. These fish are such efficient fliers that aircraft developers studied them during the early twentieth century.
Considering the amount of energy such dramatic displays consume, it is not surprising that these little fish eat a lot – mainly, they dine on plankton. In turn, they are food for dolphins and porpoises, tuna and marlin, squid, and some human populations. They are commercially fished in Indonesia and India via dip netting, and in Japan, Barbados, and Vietnam, they are captured via gillnets. In the Solomon Islands, fishermen capture them at night, holding nets aloft from outrigger canoes, luring them in on moonless nights with the light of torches. Flying fish are a staple in the Taiwanese diet, and are part of Barbados’ national dish.
As with many other species, flying fish populations worldwide are dwindling. Once abundant, the fish from Barbados would migrate between the Atlantic Ocean and Venezuela, where they would gather in huge numbers in the outflow of the Orinoco River, where plankton is abundant. Today, they migrate only as far north as Tobago.
To dive with flying fish, one can visit Taiwan, Japan, the Barbados, or even the coast of California, where they are abundant around Catalina and the Channel Islands, as well as in other waters they inhabit worldwide. Their beauty, both above and below the water, is unforgettable, and with careful conservation, their populations may stabilize once more so future generations may enjoy them as well.