The noise of lorries and goods trains travelling over bridges drowns out mating calls

Noise pollution is putting fish at increased risk of predators by interfering with their ability to defend themselves, according to a marine expert.

An “acoustic fog” from motorboat noise, underwater construction and other man-made sounds prevents fish from communicating with each other, research has found.

Stephen Simpson, an expert on marine acoustics at Exeter University, says that noise pollution is also compromising their ability to hunt, or to find and attract mates. “Whenever I tell people that fish have ears, they look at me like I’m mad,” he says in a BBC film that examines the ways in which fish communicate.

Previous research found that the noise of lorries and goods trains travelling over bridges could be disrupting the sex lives of fish by drowning