And speaking of “music of the sea”, an intriguing story from Australia.  When Matt Waller, a tour operator in Neptune Bay, Australia, attached speakers to shark cages and played the heavy metal band AC/DC, he discovered that the great white sharks became less aggressive and more inquisitive, which is odd because AC/DC seems to have exactly the opposite effect on human teenagers.

Heavy Metal Under the Sea: Sharks Act Calmer When Listening to AC/DC

It all started when Waller met up with some divers on Guadeloupe who played music in the water. Certain songs, they told Waller, seem to change the behavior of the sharks. With his company Adventure Bay Charters, Waller began experimenting with underwater speakers attached to diving cages. AC/DC became a smash hit for the sharks down under. The larger question is, why?

“Sharks don’t have ears, they don’t have long hair, and they don’t head bang past the cage doing the air guitar,” Waller told Australian Geographic. So if the great whites aren’t necessarily rocking out to AC/DC’s greatest hits, what’s the appeal? Waller notes that there is a connection between a song and the frequency and vibration in the water that the sharks enjoy.

Waller is not a shark expert, but this discovery is significant. By using music and not bait to attract sharks during tours, his company is helping cage-diving operations become more eco-conscious and environmentally sustainable.

What other albums will have the great white meandering like a rolling stone through Australia’s serene waves? Waller thinks Zeppelin is the next crowd-pleaser, though his kids are banking on The White Stripes.