Sharks prefer heavy metal to the acoustic stuff

Jun 13, 2011, 7:10 GMT

Sydney - Charter companies that take tourists to see sharks in the wild get in trouble for throwing fish scraps into the water to drum up sightings.

The big fish take a liking to the handouts and sometimes follow boats in the hope of an effortless feed. This can have deadly consequences for swimmers near boats.

Matt Waller, who runs a charter company in Port Lincoln, South Australia, has tried music rather than morsels to attract the great white sharks that visitors come to the Eyre Peninsula to see.

He has fitted speakers to the steel cage that scuba divers climb into and which are lowered into the ocean for the promised swimming-with-sharks experience.

'I started going through my albums and AC/DC was something that really hit the mark,' Waller told national broadcaster ABC. 'Their behaviour was more investigative, more inquisitive, and a lot less aggressive. They actually came past on a couple of occasions ... and rubbed their face along the speaker.'

Waller reckons it comes down to the pulsating, speaker-rattling low-frequency bass lines in heavy metal music. 'Sharks don't have ears so it's more about trying to establish what frequency and vibration in the water that appeals to the sharks,' he said.

A favourite with the great whites - and with most AC/DC fans - is You Shook Me All Night Long from the Back in Black album.

Internet: www.adventurebaycharters.com.au.