• Got_Bent@lemmy.worldEnglish
    22·
    4 months ago

    I’ve seen those things once in my life while on a boat in the Philippines. Really quite something to experience in person.

  • Gsus4@mander.xyzEnglish
    91·
    4 months ago

    hmm…how many million years until we have proper flying fish? Maybe it’s slower than land-air and land-water because the sky doesn’t have as much food?

    • cynar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      4 months ago

      There are several major hurdles, and no particularly strong evolutionary drive to overcome them.

      The first is breathing. Fish “breath” water. Shifting to air takes a huge reconfiguration. It also compromises their ability to process water.

      The second is power. “Flying” fish are actually gliders. They build up momentum in the water before launching themselves into the air. They don’t actually have the ability to flap and maintain their flight. Developing the muscles for this would likely compromise their swi.ing slightly. That would be a far bigger issue, compared to a bit of extra gliding.

      A flying fish’s goal is to break contact with an underwater hunter, before reentering the water. A steerable glide is more than enough of this. There is simply no pressure to advance it further.

  • GluWu@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    4 months ago

    My dad told me some story about how people would catch flying fish with fishing poles that had little gas engines on them. This would be in the 70s on an large Atlantic island.

      • GluWu@lemm.eeEnglish
        8·
        4 months ago

        The reel. I heard this a long time ago. I fish a lot now but only fresh water so I can only guess what the deal was. Could be just to reel them in fast since they pass so quick. Could also be used to raise a net quickly. But they were rod with I think chain saw engines.

        Now that I’m thinking about it, electric motorized reels are popular today for deep sea fishing. Maybe these were actually the 70s prototype to haul fish up 300m and catching flying fish is another story I’m mixing it up with.

        Edit: I’m so sure I remember the cover of a fishing magazine that had like 3 people on the bank with these chainsaw rods to catch flying fish.