New Study shows: Noisy activities by the Oil Industry cause collapse in fish catch rates
A recent study published in Marine Environmental Research by Knuckey et al. (2026) provides strong evidence that marine seismic surveys can strongly affect commercial fish catch rates and those over time. Conducted in southeastern Australia, the study investigated the effects of a large marine seismic survey in a commercial fishing ground on two important commercial species, eastern whiting and tiger platycephalus.
The most striking result concerned eastern school whiting. In the first three months following the seismic survey, catch rates in impacted areas decreased by up to 99.9% as compared with control sites. For tiger flathead, the reduction was smaller but still significant, estimated at 67,4% shortly after the survey compared with control areas. In the case of whiting, some effects appeared to persist for several months, with significantly reduced catch rates still observed approximately 10 months after the seismic operations.
Robust Methodology, Clear Results
These results are particularly important because they were obtained through a robust methodological framework, combining independent fisheries surveys, analyses of commercial fishing logs and a methodology that included control and impact zones. This represents a significant improvement over many previous studies, which were mainly based on a limited period around a seismic survey that did not take into account long-term effects or on commercial fishing data that could be influenced by changes in fishing behavior and capture strategies. The authors specifically address the phenomenon of “hyperstability,” where fishers maintain relatively stable catches despite declining fish abundance, which can mask ecological impacts.
The study also highlights that the mechanisms behind the observed declines remain uncertain. No observations or records of mortality or injury, nor even external morphological or physiological abnormalities, were found in the sampled fish, suggesting that the reduction in catches was most likely due to behavioural changes rather than direct lethal effects. The authors propose several possible explanations, including avoidance of the seismic zone, redistribution of fish, temporary modification of vertical movements or a change in fish behaviour that may make them more vulnerable to capture by fishers.
What Earlier Research Already Showed
These results are consistent with the scientific literature which demonstrate that the noise from air guns used in seismic surveys can alter fish abundance, distribution, and catch efficiency. Previous studies had already highlighted a reduction in catches associated with seismic surveys, notably those by Engås et al. (1996), who observed decreases of 21-70% in cod and haddock catches in the Barents Sea, and those by Skalski et al. (1992), who found an average decrease of 52% in redfish catches per unit effort compared to control areas, during geophysical surveys. Løkkeborg et al. (2012) also demonstrated species and gear specific effects on fish distribution and catch rates during seismic exposure, while Slotte et al. (2004) reported a change in vertical distribution and a reduction in fish densities near seismic operations.
The authors also note that seismic impacts are likely highly dependent of the context and can differ considerably from one ecosystem to another and from one fishery to another.
OceanCare Calls for an End to Seismic Surveys
Overall, this new study reinforces the documented effects of seismic surveys and significantly reinforce existing data due to the magnitude of the observed reductions, the duration of the effects, and the robustness of the monitoring system. It also confirms that underwater noise generated by seismic acquisition is not only an ecological problem, but also a fisheries management issue and a socio-economic concern when seismic operations overlap with productive fishing grounds. OceanCare strongly urge decision makers to halt seismic surveys for many reasons, but especially due to the severe impacts they have by generating extremely loud impulsive noise, as well as they are mainly done to search for new oil and gas deposits in the seabed which only fuels the climate crisis and should be banned to progress a true energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Some governments, such as Spain, France, Portugal, Denmark have already banned seismic activities for hyrdrocarbon exploration within their national waters entirely or to some extent with differing provisions how to deal with permits already granted.