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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2006 63(8):1431-1437; doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.03.026
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© 2006 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Fish are attracted to vessels

Anders Røstada, Stein Kaartvedta,*, Thor A. Klevjera and Webjørn Melleb

a Department of Biology, University of Oslo PO Box 1066, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
b Institute of Marine Research PO Box 1870, Nordnes, 5817 Bergen, Norway

*Correspondence to S. Kaartvedt: tel: +47 22 85 47 39; fax: +47 22 85 44 38. e-mail: stein.kaartvedt{at}bio.uio.no.

Fish rapidly accumulated below research vessels (RVs) at anchor, kept stationary by dynamic satellite positioning, or freely drifting. This happened by day and night, beneath vessels with different noise levels, in fjords and the open ocean, comprised different species assemblages of fish, and spanned depths of several hundred metres. Acoustic backscatter (fish abundance) increased by more than an order of magnitude in less than an hour. One of the study sites was characterized by much ship traffic, and intermittent, strong decreases in the local fish aggregation beneath the RV were caused by fish swimming towards passing commercial vessels, before returning to the stationary RV. The study suggests more complex relationships between fish, vessels, and noise than previously anticipated. If fish are commonly attracted to vessels, this has implications for fish abundance estimates and basic ecological research.

Keywords: accumulation, acoustics, avoidance, FAD, swimming behaviour

Received 11 August 2005; accepted 17 March 2006.


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