• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Animals / How do Fish in the Ocean Die or Explode if Brought to the Surface too Fast?

How do Fish in the Ocean Die or Explode if Brought to the Surface too Fast?

June 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

One of the joys of deep-sea fishing is exploding fish.

Some deep-sea fish will explode when you pull them out of the water, and no, it’s not a joke or funny for the fish.

Here’s why it happens: most fish keep their equilibrium in the water with an air bladder that balances their body mass and makes them essentially weightless, neither sinking nor floating to the surface.

This is energy-efficient for them in that they don’t have to continuously flap their fins and tails to stay at a desired depth.

Deep-ocean fish need a lot of gases in their bladders to withstand the increased water pressure that pushes on them from all sides in deep water.

While they are able to make subtle adjustments to the amount of air inside their bladders, they can’t do it quickly enough when they’re caught on a hook and dragged suddenly toward the surface. As their bodies pass underwater from significant pressure to a middling amount of pressure, their bladders expand more and more, sometimes killing them before they even reach the surface.

Finally, water pressure is removed completely when the fish is pulled out of the water. Blam! Fish parts everywhere.

Not all deep-sea creatures explode, mind you, because some don’t have bladders. Sharks don’t have them, for example, so they have to
continuously move if they don’t want to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

Skates and stingrays also don’t have air bladders, but that suits them fine, they flatten themselves to the ocean floor when resting and then “fly” through the water by actively flapping the fish equivalent of bird wings.

So if you catch a shark or a stingray, or if you decide to stick with those fish that live near the water’s surface, you don’t have to come home from your fishing trip covered with fish guts.

And believe us, that will please everyone, the fish, your fellow passengers, and you.

Related Facts

  • Why do some fish explode like a balloon when they are caught and brought to the surface?
  • Can Fish Get the Bends From Staying Underwater For Too Long?
  • How Is Sea Salt Better Than Regular Table Salt?
  • Where do dinoflagellates come from and How is ciguatoxin food poisoning prevented?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • Why Do Old Cast Iron Cannonballs Brought Up From the Sea Sometimes Explode and What Causes the Oxidization?

Filed Under: Animals

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How is the Red Dye Carmine Made from the Cochineal Insect and When was it First Used for Coloring Fabric?
Next Post: Where do Silkworms Come From and How Long is the Thread from a Single Silkworm Cocoon? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy