Do flying fish really fly?

Flying fish are certainly among the most interesting sights that one is likely to see on an ocean voyage. Suddenly the little fish break the water surface and go sailing away like so many streaks of light.

The questions most often asked about flying fish are: how do they get out of the water, and do they actually fly?

The “wings” on the flying fish are the front fins, which are greatly enlarged. The fish gets into the air by swimming very rapidly near the water surface by strong movements of the tail. Suddenly the fish comes to the surface, spreads its front fins, and holds them rigid. The fins act like the wings of a glider; they lift the fish into the air and keep it there as it goes sailing over the waves. Flying fish stay in the air for several hundred yards, and sometimes they get so high that they land on the decks of large ships.

At one time, it was thought that a flying fish actually flew by flapping its fins as a bird does its wings, but it is now known that the fins are held rigid and not flapped. Thus flying fish do not actually fly like birds, but they sail, or glide, like gliders.