BOSTON -- Call them Pavlov's fish: Scientists are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by swimming into a net when they hear a tone that signals feeding time.
Researcher Simon Miner at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole says while the idea of trained fish may seem crazy, the facility has received a $270,000 federal grant to test the concept.
Miner says the specially trained fish could someday be used to bolster the depleted black sea bass stock.
The bigger goal is to defray the costs of fish farming, an increasingly important source of the world's seafood. If fish can be trained to return to the farmer after feeding in the open ocean for several days, farms could save money on feed.
Many questions remain, however, including: How many fish will return, how many will be lost to predators, and how many will simply swim away?
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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