The Effects Noise Has on Fish

All fish species [that have been tested] can hear,” Krahforst says. “They utilize hearing for a number of purposes.” They use it to find food, locate schoolmates, engage in courtship, and avoid danger. Yet the degree to which a fish relies on hearing varies with each species and with the ambient noise level within any particular body of water, she adds. Pelagic fish such as bluefin tuna, for example, don’t depend on auditory sensitivity as much as do fish species that inhabit shallower water, such as redfish or white seabass, says Larry Allen, chair of biology at California State University at Northridge.