New Sensor Lets Scientists Study Large Fish Groups

Focusing on Atlantic herring, the scientists were, for the first time, able to observe the fish gather off Georges Bank near Cape Cod, Mass., where they spawn under cover of dark, according to a report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

With dawn, the large mass of herring return to deeper waters and scatter, according to the researchers led by Nicholas C. Makris, a professor of mechanical and ocean engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Using a system called Ocean Acoustic Waveguide Remote Sensing, the team can observe shoals of fish as much as 25 miles across, compared to past echo-sounders which cover only a small area.

Makris says the change is like moving from seeing a single pixel to the entire movie.