Pollock fish are being trained up by Norwegian scientists to act as specialist marine spies.
Cheap and readily available, Pollock are also apparently the most reliable of the north Atlantic fish species to carry out intelligence missions.
“We have done quite a bit of research on this, out at sea also. Cod is too strong-willed and difficult to steer. Salmon is too stupid,” Jens G Balchen, from Norway’s Technical-Scientific University (NTNU), told the Aftenposten Interactive English Desk.
Balchen has been carrying out several successful experiments on “steering” the fish, by attaching an electronic compass, compute and steering mechanism and using ultrasound signals to guide their movements.
The research team explain that it is feasible people could use fish as an alternative to submarines while carrying out research at sea. They come waterproof and equipped with energy and a propeller, and are small enough to scout around pipelines or shipwrecks.
