How smart are fish? Integrating what Scientists and Anglers Know!
Buckland Evening Lecture – The Buckland Foundation
18th April, 2017 18:00 to 21:00
With Felicity Huntingford and Ken Whelan
The talks in this event will challenge the commonly-held view of fish as robot-like animals with no intelligence and a 30 second memory, which often leads to fish conservation being ignored in favour of more charismatic animals. Fish perform many complex behaviours that in mammals, for example, would be deemed intelligent or “smart”. Thus they form mental maps, use tools, build complicated structures and develop traditions. The dissonance between popular image and reality arises because most people do not have the time or opportunity to discover just how complex fish behaviour is. However, it needn’t be this way. Anglers spend a lot of time observing and interacting with fish, so in this session we will explore what they have to say about how smart, or not, fish are. Our aim is to promote a lively discussion between people with different perspectives and to highlight the value of the traditional knowledge that anglers possess and that they pass on to successive generations.
To book (free):
Do join us at:
Joly Lecture Theatre,
Hamilton Building,
Trinity College,
Dublin
Refreshments provided