The new findings by Johns Hopkins University engineers working with a high-tech simulation of schooling mackerel, offers new insight into why fish swim in schools and promise for the design and operation of much quieter submarines and autonomous undersea vehicles. The team found that a school of fish moving together in just the right way was stunningly effective at noise reduction: A school of seven fish sounded like a single fish. Rajat Mittal Professor, Whiting School "A predator, such as a shark, may perceive it as hearing a lone fish instead of a group. The team was surprised to find that the sound reduction benefits kick in as soon as one swimming fish joins another. Noise reduction grows as more fish join a school, but the team expects the benefits to cap off at some point.
