Fish and electronic chips is new dish of the day in marine research

FISH with chips is classic partnership, but the latest version is designed to help protect marine stocks.

Sensors similar to chips used in computer games consoles could be planted into fish so researchers can better understand their movements.

Scientists from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) want to pilot the technology as part of research into fish habits to aid stock predictions. Fisheries minister Richard Benyon said: "This certainly brings a new meaning to fish and chips. It is incredible to think that technology we use to play computer games could eventually help us in our predictions of fish stocks.

"This shows the ingenuity of our scientists in striving to improve our understanding of the natural world."

Cefas has trialed an electronic tag that logs every time a fish opens its mouth, which is used to track when a fish is breathing, feeding, coughing or yawning. The tag can also locate the fish.