Ice Fishing Study: How Humans Follow the Crowd to Find Food

The long, frigid winters of North Karelia, Finland, traditionally find locals seeking respite – and perch – on frozen lakes. But a recent study, published January 29, 2026 in the journal Science, reveals that the decision of where to fish isn’t always a solitary one driven by personal experience. Instead, ice fishers often rely on a surprisingly powerful force: the wisdom of the crowd.

For years, researchers assumed that individuals foraging for resources – whether berries, tubers, or fish – would primarily depend on their own knowledge of a location. This assumption was often tested using simulations and, notably, with participants in video games designed to mimic foraging scenarios. However, real-world foraging is rarely a solo endeavor. Recognizing this, a team led by Alexander Schakowski, a psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, decided to study ice fishing competitions in Finland as a natural laboratory for observing human decision-making.

“Foraging—that is, searching for and collecting resources—is a behavior that occurs everywhere,” explains Schakowski. “Every animal, every bacterium, and every human forages. Without that ability, they would not be able to survive.” The researchers equipped 74 seasoned ice fishers with GPS trackers and head-mounted cameras during 10 tournaments held across 10 lakes over two winters. This allowed them to meticulously record the fishers’ movements, catches, and the duration of time spent at each fishing spot – a total of 16,055 locations were analyzed.

The data revealed a complex interplay of factors influencing the fishers’ choices. While personal experience certainly played a role, particularly when they were successfully catching fish, a clear “social attraction” emerged. When luck ran dry, fishers were significantly more likely to move to areas where others were gathered, and they tended to stay longer in those crowded spots. This behavior, the researchers termed “conditional social learning,” suggesting that individuals modulate their reliance on others based on their own success.

“Going it alone and the wisdom of the group are ‘almost equally important,’” Schakowski stated. The study showed that fishers down on their luck were more inclined to follow the crowd than to trust their own instincts. This isn’t necessarily a sign of indecision, but rather a pragmatic strategy in a challenging environment. In a hostile setting like a frozen lake, venturing off alone carries risk, while sticking with a group offers a degree of safety and the potential for shared knowledge.

Interestingly, the study also found that the physical characteristics of the lakebed – such as steep areas where fish are known to congregate – played a less significant role than expected. This suggests that social cues often outweigh environmental factors in these decision-making processes. However, researchers acknowledge that environmental cues may be more important in regions with more varied terrain.

The findings have implications beyond the realm of ice fishing. Researchers believe that understanding how humans make foraging decisions in extreme environments can provide insights into the evolution of complex thinking. “This gives us some more information on drivers of intelligence,” says Friederike Hillemann, a behavioral ecologist at Durham University in England, who was not involved in the study.

Anthropologist Michael Gurven of the University of California, Santa Barbara, isn’t surprised by the findings. “We’re social creatures, and almost everything we do involves looking over our shoulders and seeing what others are up to.” He suggests that further research should involve interviewing the ice fishers themselves to gain a deeper understanding of their thought processes. “We can talk to people,” Hillemann points out, highlighting the unique advantage of studying human behavior directly.

While the study provides valuable insights into human decision-making, it’s important to remember that it focuses on a specific population – competitive ice fishers in Finland. The researchers emphasize that a single study cannot capture the full spectrum of human foraging practices across different cultures and environments. Nevertheless, the findings offer a compelling glimpse into the complex interplay between individual experience, social learning, and environmental factors that shape our choices, even in the most challenging of circumstances.