Comments on: What makes 250,000,000 fish gather in the same place?

By: makinde adekunle

makinde adekunle — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:20:01 +0000

this is a nice research work. I recommend it to all limnologists and fisheries guru.

By: waterboy

waterboy — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:43:34 +0000

The British Columbia herring fishery occurs in late February or Early March each year. This year, the biomass,in ONE area, was estimated at almost 60,000 tonnes. AND, the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans allows a 20% harvest of this almost bottom rung of the food chain! Then, they wonder why the salmon stocks are down, then they wonder why the killer whale population is shrinking.
The spawn turns the water a fantastic light blue and the eagle, seal, gull and sea lion population skyrockets. People complain about the barking, there are so many pinnepeds! Ah- nature, the wonderful mystery that we try to unravel…

By: Monado, FCD

Monado, FCD — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:59:00 +0000

Fish food, I’d guess. Or a mating ball. They might start out looking for food where cool waters well up and progress to spawning when the densities are great enough that sperm has a good chance of meeting egg. The herring feed the cod or tuna, the cod or tuna feed the dolphins and the sharks. Something small eats the eggs and sperm. They are there so that they overwhelm the feeding capacities of the predators, as cicadas do, and have some fertilized eggs left over. That’s my guess.
Then we come along and say, “you could practically walk on the back of those cod” (500 years ago). “They won’t miss it if we take 10% or 20 or 30.”

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:06:15 +0000

The video is “no longer available”

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:08:52 +0000

MattK and Brett – I disagree; in terms of actually finding fish, this doesn’t really have any advantages over existing tech. It’s advantage is in visualising the entirety of a mega-shoal as it forms. I can’t think that would be of any interest to fishermen who could much more easily find out where some big shoals are.
Lab Rat – I seem to remember a couple of papers which show that complex shoaling behaviour can emerge if individuals follow some very very simple rules of movement. Anyone else remember something similar or can provide links?
Ian – You’re a man after my own pun-loving heart.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:16:03 +0000

“What makes 250,000,000 fish gather in the same place?”
Are you fishing for answers, Ed?

By: Craftierthanyou

Craftierthanyou — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:44:02 +0000

What if they had facebook all along?

By: Lab Rat

Lab Rat — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:05:16 +0000

I’ve always wondered how fish manage that. Birds too; you’ll see them all gathered together and then suddenly, without any warning, they all do a left turn at the same time. Fish seem to have even less prior signalling; as they don’t even make any noise.

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:00:19 +0000

They will devastate the fish population if the fishermen ever find out how to use this tech. It is amazing though how all those fish can congregate like that.

By: MattK

MattK — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:23:27 +0000

I wonder what will happen once commercial fishermen get their hands on this technology. Sage restraint and respect for the ecosystem no doubt…