Sonar Making Trout Deaf?
There has been speculation that the noise pollution caused by sonar is causing fish to go deaf.
According to the AP, a study will be conducted to expose rainbow trout to various amounts of noise pollution in a controlled environment to study the effects.
Since sound seems to travel farther underwater, it would be no surprise that it would also amplify louder underwater as well, especially for aquatic animals that are sensitive and used to their regular levels of sound. It makes sense that any artificial noises, louder than what most aquatic animals are used to would be affected by the change.
Another aspect to take into consideration when discussing conservation.
Although frequent catching and planting would limit the possibility that fish would become deaf over a populace, it does bring into question on how effective “noise making” lures will have on fish in lakes with heavy water traffic and a long history of lunkers caught and released.