When lightning strikes the sea, why don't all the fish die?
Lightening strikes on the ocean compared to land is a rather unusual occurrence. The image below shows NASA’s data on distribution of lightning strikes across the world in 2003. It is fairly clear that lightning on land is a whole lot more common than out at sea. Although, some areas especially around the east coast of Southern Africa and South America do see relatively regular lightning strikes at sea.
Do fish die from electrocution when lightning strikes the sea?
Apparently not, unlike air, the sea is a very good conductor as it contains salt. Rather than creating an direct narrow, path concentrating the “punch”, the charge from the lightning strike spreads out sideways and downwards in an expanding half sphere from the surface. Any fish within a few meters of the strike area would probably be killed but beyond that they would probably just feel a tingle. Fish also tend to be a bit deeper in the water and not at the surface where the current is concentrated. Glad we got that answered.
Is it safe to go for a dive when there is lightning?
The answer here is a resounding NO, several divers have been killed by lightning in the past, most often as they surface in a thunderstorm and their tanks act as conductors and zap, bye bye.
So there you have it, no, the fish don’t die, lightning striking the ocean is quickly dissipated across the surface, but if you happen to be swimming about with a nice big steel conductor tied to your back, you could be in for a rough day. But still way safer than a round of golf.
http://www.tidaltao.com/blog/87-ocean-laughs/246-why-dont-fish-die-when-lightning-strikes-the-sea
