Alan, The family Sciaenidae is found in almost all oceans (and some freshwaters) of the world. While you may not have a Croaker per se, there is a member of their family in your area that makes LOTS of noise underwater. One of the questions on a graduate oceanography test that I took years ago asked what was the source of the greatest amount of background noise throughout the oceans and the correct answer was Croakers. R/Jay From: owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org [mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org] On Behalf Of Alan James Hi Jay, There are round 700 fish species in NZ waters. About 97% of these you would never come across in your life time. I checked with a freind who is 7x NZ casting champion & repairs fishing reels for a living; he'd never heard of a croaker fish in NZ. I used to draw fish & memorize their scientific names, but haven't come across a Croaker fish. We have a gurnard that "barks" when you land it. But it's nothing like a Croaker. Interesting "The sounds are produced by the beating of abdominal muscles against the swim bladder" Maybe we could exploit the fact that the submarine is similar to a large swim bladder. Alan |