Needlefish range from 1.2-37.4 inches in length. They are long slender fish with a dorsal and ventral fin set way far back on the body. They skim along the surface of the water, often leaping out of the water. There is a greater risk of injury from needlefish than from sharks. Several deaths have been recorded from needlefish beak punctures. A 10yr old Hawaiian boy in Kauai died when a needlefish leapt out of the water while he and his father were fishing from a small boat. The fish pierced him through the eye socket and entered the brain. Another teen in Vietnam was pierced through the heart by a needlefish.