Human noise ‘leads fish from habitats’

NOISE pollution from shipping, drilling for oil or wind farms could lead fish away from their natural habitat into areas where they could die, potentially devastating future fish stocks.

A British-led team made the discovery while working on the Great Barrier Reef — as well as debunking the myth that fish have three-second memories.

Dr Steve Simpson, of the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “When only a few weeks old, baby reef fish face a monumental challenge in locating and choosing suitable habitat. Reef noise gives them vital information but if they can learn, remember and become attracted towards the wrong sounds, we might be leading them in all the wrong directions.”