Fish know how to avoid the spear

11:52 PM Wed 23 Mar 2011 GMT

'A Papua New Guinean spear fisherman loading a rifle-style spear gun at the surface. These spear guns are normally hand carved wooden stocks with rubber slings that fire a thin metal rod that has been hand sharpened.' ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies &copy Click Here to view large photo

Fish are not as dumb as people sometimes think: marine scientists have found that fish that are regularly hunted with spearguns are much more wary and keep their distance from fishers. In investigating the effects of marine areas closed to fishing by customary laws, an international team of researchers working in the Pacific found that fish exposed to speargun fishing take flight much earlier when a diver approaches compared with those living in protected zones. To assess the effectiveness of marine protected areas and their effects on fish behaviour, the team decided to measure ?flight distance? in a range of ...

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by ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies