Marine creatures make sounds. Oysters, crabs, shrimp, but also fish. Researcher Maryann Watson of the University of Groningen uses this and captures fish sounds with underwater microphones. This allows her to find out how important shellfish reefs in the Wadden Sea are for certain fish species.

Maryann listens to fish
By catching fish around natural and artificial shellfish banks, researcher Maryann Watson hopes to discover if these elements are valuable to fish. She also has another special method: catching fish sounds with an underwater microphone.

With this new technique, fish do not need to be caught and the use of natural and restored shellfish reefs can still be determined. Maryann is one of the researchers in the Waddentools Swimway Wadden Sea project, which investigates how the management of the Wadden Sea can be improved to restore impoverished fish stocks.

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