A little disappointing to say the least, especially as Dave then appeared chirruping about the flying fish he'd just seen.

Last time I saw flying fish was back in FRD days off Mauritania - my hazy memory recalls rather ugly, lumbering things heaving themselves out of the water for a second and then flopping back down.

Dave must be a fish whisperer. Half an hour of me scanning the waves turned up nothing. No sooner had he arrived, than a beautiful flash of blue skiffed passed us, gliding over the waves. Nothing like the flying fish of memory, it was more like a hummingbird. Then a whole shoal flew past, darting in every direction, just inches from the surface, and flying a fair distance. I'm not sure why they fly, we spent several minutes theorizing, based on total ignorance and came up with a big fat nothing... so any flying fish experts or even better any flying fish comedians, who might be able to help this theory along would be most welcome.

I don't really understand the point of flying fish, but they made my morning brighter and the world a little more interesting to be in today, which I guess is a pretty good reason for being. It's one of the many reasons to defend the oceans. For sure there is a reason for flying fish to still exist - and plenty more besides - 90% of life on this planet is in the oceans and we are only just beginning to understand the balance of marine life and what a huge impact just taking one species out of that system can have. Unless we protect the oceans with a global network of marine reserves, that balance will be lost.

- Sara



An Unfortunate Visitor
These wonderful creatures are desperately hard to photograph - they light up from the water beside the ship, and by the time I've managed to focus them, they've danced away across the waves. I've been thinking of how one can take such creatures for granted. After all, fish don't fly do they? And birds don't swim underwater (yes, some do), lizards always lay eggs (some give birth to live young) and mammals don't have beaks or lay eggs (the platypus does). It seems strangely normal to be watching these magical creatures on a weekend morning - a million miles from what people in cities might be now doing, reading newspaper, going shopping or walking the dog, never dreaming that fish are flying. And why would they?

Flying fish are of the family Exocoetidae - which means "lying down outside", "sleeping under the stars" . This is because of a common occurance - flying fish landing on the decks of ships. Unfortunately for one little geezer, he met his end on the poop deck of the Esperanza, where he was found by our cook, Miguel.

Fascinating things, flying fish - there's dozens of different kinds - some with two 'wings', some with four. These wings are actually over-developed pectoral fins, which the use to escape predators - they're flying up from the bow of the Esperanza because they think it's a dolphin, shark or tuna. In the air, they can glide for 30-50m at speeds of up to 60km/h, skimming waves and using updrafts to stay aloft. They're usually no more than 30cm long.

I'd guess that the ones we're seeing - which are quite small - are examples of the Atlantic Flying Fish, or Cypselurus heterurus. They're a blue-green on top, and pale underneath. They have flatter eyes than most fish - this enables them to see where they're going both in water and above!

Anyone out there who knows more about flying fish?

- Dave



Wikipedia entry on flying fish »
More on flying fish »

Close-up: A dead flying fish on the poop deck of the Esperanza. Photo: Greenpeace/Walsh

A dead flying fish on the poop deck of the Esperanza. Photo: Greenpeace/Walsh

Flying Fish skimming the waves. Photo: Greenpeace/Walsh