Cod (1) and haddock(3) hunt for herring(2) on the bottom of the sea between a field oarweed(4). A painting by the German artist Heinrich Harder. (1858-1935)
larval cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock
(Melanogrammus aeglefinus) from Georges Bank
were dominated by nauplii and copepodites of
Oithona similis and Pseudocalanus spp.
Listening to fish can contribute a
great deal to our knowledge of their abundance, distribution and behavior. Passive acoustics studies
using relatively simple techniques have been successful in locating concentrations of important
fish species, opening the way for further, more detailed studies of their behavior, distribution and
habitat use. As reflected in the various research programs described within this proceedings,
already significant strides have been taken in the application of passive acoustics to fisheries:
* in an Arctic fjord in northern Norway, workers from the FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen and
the University of Tromsø have located a spawning ground of haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus.
Passive listening has revealed that this species, previously thought to spawn offshore in
deep water, can also form large spawning concentrations close to shore (see Hawkins)