The fish, filmed by an NHK crew, was traveling parallel to a ferry that was going about 20 miles per hour, the BBC reported Tuesday. The fish remained airborne while occasionally beating the surface of the water with its tail fin.

The fish's flight apparently was one of the longest on record, the British network reported. An American researcher reported seeing a fish fly for 42 seconds in the 1920s.

There are about 40 species of "flying fish." They actually glide rather than power their flights by flapping.