In the Catfish Effect, it is mentioned that in Norway, because fresh sardines are several times more expensive than frozen ones, fishermen try to keep them fresh after landing. But only one local fishing boat can bring fresh sardines ashore for a long time. Only the captain knows the secret, and he never revealed a word. After his death, fishermen found a catfish swimming in his sardine tank. In order to avoid it, sardines changed their inertia, swam constantly to save their lives, and were still alive when they finally landed.

The truth story "catfish effect" is actually a negative incentive, which aims to teach managers how to activate the staff team. Its authenticity is debatable, and it seems likely to be fabricated at present.

set an example

Because the story source of this catfish effect is not exactly recorded, we can only speculate the truth of the story from all aspects.

First, let's see if the two kinds of fish mentioned in the story, sardines and catfish, can be produced in Norway at the same time. Norway is located in the west of Scandinavia, bordering the Norwegian Sea (a part of the North Atlantic) in the west. Due to the confluence of the warm current of the North Atlantic and the cold current of frozen Iceland, the fishery in the Norwegian Sea is very rich, including cod, herring, sardines and anchovies. Sardines are all kinds of small fish rich in oil under Herring. Sardines produced in the Norwegian Sea are Claupea harengus, which are mainly divided into two categories: North Sea Herring and Norwegian Spring Herring [1][2]. Catfish usually refers to all fishes of the order Siluriformes. Catfish inhabit a wide range, covering all continents except Antarctica, interior drainage and coastal areas. Most catfish live in fresh water, and a few live in salt water (seawater and saltwater lakes). These catfish living in salt water include Salmonidae and Anguilla, as well as some species of Salmonidae and Verrucidae. Unfortunately, these saltwater catfish are only distributed in tropical and temperate saltwater [3], not in the North Atlantic.

So there are no catfish in the North Atlantic? Strictly speaking, there is no catfish, but there is also a non-catfish with "catfish" in its English name. The English name of this fish is Atlantic catfish or Atlantic wolffish, seawolf, and the Chinese name is North Atlantic Wolffish. It belongs to the genus Wolffish of the Amphibia suborder Wolffish, and its scientific name is Anarhichas lupus. Could this fish be the catfish chasing sardines in the story? Unfortunately not, because this wolf fish feeds on shellfish, crustaceans and echinoderms. And it doesn't eat fish [4]. From the above introduction, it may be difficult for "catfish" and sardines to meet in Norway.

In addition, from the perspective of fishing methods, sardines are generally caught in purse seine, and the sardines received will be soaked in salt water until they land [5]. The so-called "bringing fresh sardines ashore" is completely invented by the story author.

In addition, sardines are migratory fish and swim very fast. All kinds of flexible predators in the ocean usually only eat some old, weak and sick individuals, and there is no so-called "inertia".

In addition, according to Wikipedia's explanation of the term catfish effect, this term is rarely discussed in English culture, but more often appears in Chinese [6]. And Norway, as the birthplace of this story, when we tried to search in Norwegian steinbit effekt (catfish effect), there was no relevant result.

Therefore, judging from the geographical distribution and living habits of catfish and sardines, the fishing methods of sardines and the frequency of using this word in English and Norwegian culture, this story is very likely to be fabricated.