Air Date: Week of February 23, 2001

Transcript

VILLIGER: In Norway, cod is a Christmas delicacy. In the days leading up to the holiday, fishermen catch thousands of cod and put them in pens at sea until harvest. But this year, after a stretch of stormy weather, they noticed the captured cod were looking a bit disoriented. Some were even vomiting. "Could these cod actually be seasick?" they asked scientists. The answer is yes. Fish have the same structure in their ears to maintain balance that we do. Since the cod trapped in pens couldn't orient themselves to the waves, they became, well, a little green around the gills. The same thing can happen when fish are transported over land in sloshing half-filled tanks. One simple cure calls for the fish to swim freely again, and reportedly the swimming cure works for seasick people, too. That's this week's animal update. I'm Maggie Villiger.

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