Scientists believe that fish from fish farms can be released into the sea to grow naturally and then use a call sound that the fish have been trained to respond to, to entice them back into the nets.
They think that such a plan will lead to more profitable and environmentally friendly methods of fish farming and help to restore overfished seas.
Overcrowded cages, as happens with current fish farming methods, makes fish prone to disease. The environment can also be damaged by waste discharges and the use of antibiotics and pesticides.
Training fish over several years to respond to a sound, one that is specific to a group of fish, means the sound could be played from a boat or a shoreline-based catching station.
The man behind the scheme is Jonathan Lovell of Plymouth University’s Institute of Marine Studies who turned to research four years ago from skippering a fishing boat.
Using a tank fitted with a loudspeaker he’s been testing the idea on carp, grey mullet and sea bass. He claimed the idea ‘worked beautifully’.
Different species respond to different sounds and come to associate the sound with a food reward. Mr Lovell claimed the fish remember the sound for at least four months.
‘I am convinced it is longer.’ Mr. Lovell added. ‘But I have clearly demonstrated that this is not a short term memory thing.’
The first real test is expected in the spring when Mr. Lovell plans to release 10,000 juvenile bass off Plymouth Sound and then try to call them back.
Source: The Times
FISHINGmagic: Does this mean that soon we will see a loudspeaker dropped into the local lake and tuned in to suit whatever species we’re after that day? Don’t laugh – baitboats fitted with sonar are here now. Ten years ago we would have laughed at that idea!
