I've heard people being accused of talking out their a$$, but apparently fish do it all the time...

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994343

Fish farting may not just be hot air
NewScientist.com news service


Biologists have linked a mysterious, underwater farting sound to bubbles coming out of a herring's anus. No fish had been known to emit sound from its anus nor to be capable of producing such a high-pitched noise.

"It sounds just like a high-pitched raspberry," says Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada (Listen here, .wav file). Wilson and his colleagues cannot be sure why herring make this sound, but initial research suggests that it might explain the puzzle of how shoals keep together after dark.

"Surprising and interesting" is how aquatic acoustic specialist Dennis Higgs, of the University of Windsor in Ontario, describes the discovery. It is the first case of a fish potentially using high frequency for communication, he believes.

Arthur Popper, an aquatic bio-acoustic specialist at the University of Maryland, US, is also intrigued. "I'd not have thought of it, but fish do very strange and diverse things," he says

No doubt these folks will soon advise us (after they get a posh grant for 3 years easy living) exactly why fish fart.

I must not be watching enough Discovery, Nova, National Geographic, and the like. It absolutely escaped my attention that, of all creation, herring fish farts are postulated to be used for school navigation at night. I had believed that schooling herring would have navigated at night just as they do in daytime, using the same guidance mechanism. I wonder what triggers the switch from day to night navigation? Also, I didn't think the last fish in line could hear (or smell) the first fish's fart, so as to be able to turn nearly simultaneously with the others. Just think of the the behavior and learning involved to follow all the exotic twists and turns of the herring school as numbers are being attacked by gulls, seals, dolphin and sharks, occasionally all at the same time. I guess it is pretty hard to play "follow the leader" for some of them. How do they ever control their vowels as not all are exposed to the same aquatic terrors and must therefore react (and speculatively, fart) differently? A fart language? I read things like "Junk Science" and being of a questioning nature, question this fish farting story of discovery as perhaps a scam wrought by a liberal. This is because of the recent 5-legged frog hullabaloo now largely believed to be scientific nonsense. As a child I knew some frogs had 5 legs and really rare ones 2 heads. Why, I myself owned a 2 headed striped snake for a summer! I have also known for a long time that fish fart, croakers croak, bullheads squeak and drum drum. I honestly admit to knowing that not all grants are posh. But I am also sure there are a lot of the pork-barrel variety and that it is often pretty hard to nurture orangs, even with local help, with all expenses paid , when you are so far from home. You could get to thinking of them as red-headed friends and relatives you'd be so homesick. Ah, the tribulations of scientific inquiry! ned ludd

I thought schooling fishes used their lateral line to detect vibrations and pressure? This is more suited for keeping together than expelling gas...

You haven't had a good laugh under water until you have seen a parrotfish fart coral dust.
Must not be a comfortable experience.

Sir: Please make sure you are wearing an OSHA approved dust mask down there. ned

So what's going to happen when the eco-wackos find out about this? And is the State of California going to require catalytic converters be shoved the asses of the fish? My worry is that they'll require they be shoved up our asses first, as a test. Should be popular in San Francisco...

g ned ludd
It's kind of dampened by the time it exits the fish,dust is kept to a minimum though it can be a problem during the dry summer months.
However, OSHA can be picky, I'll check the OSHA bulletin board for current requirements.

[ 11-15-2003, 21:00: Message edited by: covey16 ]

Makes you look at a beautiful strand of white coral sand beach in a whole different perspective.

Arock
A homey of mine ran Underwater Research on Grand Turk BWI back in the late 70's early 80's.
Back then Mike and a retired mortorcycle cop from LA ran the only 2 dive operations and the only decent place to stay was the Kittina.
They had to catch tropical fish in the off season to get by.
Most of the population was Brit and islanders with a few American,Brit,Aussie and European tourists.
That was a unique time and place.
Pan AM had a microwave operation,The USN had a small outfit that tracked submarine traffic thru the Turks Passage and also had some duties related to NASA operations.
They threw a party when Americans came and went.
You haven't seen it all until you've seen a tough looking Navy diver dancing arround with his finger on top of his head like a ballerina.
Best dive spot I ever saw,but I haven't been to The Great Barrier Reef or The Red Sea.
I heard there is a club Med there now.
Pity
Covey

[ 11-16-2003, 22:11: Message edited by: covey16 ]

Arock
I got involved in nostalgia and for got to answer
your question.
The answer is mabe.
Last time I dove was 1998.
Had no problems.
PADI advanced open water certified 1977.
Had some training and experience prior.
Long stay in Houston pollution has given me sinus and inner ear problems.
I dont know if I could clear these days.
Don't ever get old.
Covey

[ 11-16-2003, 22:08: Message edited by: covey16 ]

While it still isn't scientifically proven that fish farts are a form of communication, this thread is scientific proof that communicating about fish farts is in truth a form of scientific communication. Does anyone else wish to participate in this miracle of modern science. Last call! For the next Scientific inquiry I would propose the topic "Is ju-ju as meaningful as voodoo and islam?"

Ladies and Gentlemen we have just experienced dreaded Thread Drift.

Will someone please get us back on course to Fish Farts?

I think the scientists at the FF research institute at nookhill have just concluded that fish are respnosible for carribean coral beaches. THERE, back on topic. Go, and sin no more, my friends.

Arock you are right,Apologies to all.
Saeed needs a scuba forum. Spearguns you know
Plus reloading data for spearguns,is somewhat tricky.
G ned ludd
I could find no current OSHA documentation on underwater dust control. I hope they don't read this thread or there will be one.

[ 11-17-2003, 18:39: Message edited by: covey16 ]

Scuba people would be in trouble if osha modeled ff protection on asbestos rules. Hard to be flipperin' around with paper booties tied on with duct tape, but it would be fun to watch. Yes. There probably is a need for a seperate (but equal) scuba forum. Good luck

...Back to the subject, fish farting...I knew that herring do this when they rise toward the surface and when there is a large shoal of them it must make quite a noise.
The whole time I thought it had to do with buoyancy, releasing air for their air bladders?

Can someone else offer ideas?