Sharks Make Noise: Discover the Surprising Sounds They Produce!

It’s commonly believed that sharks are creatures of silence, a trait likely aided by their underwater habitat. For decades, the menacing soundtrack of Jaws, composed by John Williams, was the closest association many of us had with the acoustic presence of sharks. However, recent discoveries suggest that sharks may have been producing a specific sound all along, one that we’re only now beginning to detect.

A group of researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in New Zealand, led by Carolin Nieder, recorded a shark species known as a rig producing a unique clicking noise. Nieder first became aware of this phenomenon in 2021 while conducting experiments with rigs, noting, “one of the shark species emitted a clicking noise when handled underwater.”

Rethinking the Silence of Sharks

Initially dismissed as an anomaly, the peculiar nature of the sound prompted Nieder and her team to investigate further. From May 2020 to April 2022, they captured audio of 10 juvenile rigs producing clicks, which ranged in frequency from 2.4 to 18.5 kilohertz and resembled the sound of plastic utensils scraping against each other.

Interestingly, the sharks produced these sounds only when being handled by humans, remaining silent while swimming or feeding. This led researchers to speculate that the clicking might be a stress response rather than a tool for communication or navigation, which are common purposes of animal sounds.

The consistency of the clicking when first introduced to experimental settings—and its cessation once the sharks acclimated—supports this hypothesis. However, it’s also possible that the sound serves a communicative function.

Nieder referenced her colleague, Scott Tindale, who observed similar clicking sounds from rigs in their natural habitat. Tindale theorizes that these clicks mimic the sounds of shrimp, a potential prey, possibly to coax them from hiding, thereby making them easier targets for the sharks.

As to the mechanics of how the sound is produced, the researchers suspect it might be created by the sharks clapping their teeth together rapidly, though this remains unconfirmed.

This ongoing research is peeling back layers on what we know about sharks, revealing that these seemingly silent predators might have been communicating in ways we are only beginning to understand.