The State - News from Aug. 21, 1985

The verdict is in on an annoying, mysterious hum that has plagued houseboat dwellers in Richardson Bay near Sausalito for years--the noise is coming from amorous fish, marine biologists say. Frank J. Hubach, an acoustical engineer who headed the research into the hum, said that spectrograms from a tape recording made in 1977 of the plainfin midshipmen matched up exactly with the noises heard every summer in Richardson Bay. The fish earlier had been identified as suspects in the case. John McCosker, director of the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, said the male fish emit their rasping, humming sound when they seek mates. More than a dozen of the fish recently netted are on display at Steinhart. Hubach said houseboat dwellers will have to weather the humming sound because the fish will not go away, and they will not quiet down until their mating season is over.