Researchers have discovered that playing The Rolling Stones hits is not the way to get herring to leave an Icelandic fjord. The fjord in question, Kolgrafafjörður, in West Iceland, is home to large shoals of herring, but last year 50,000 tonnes of them died because of insufficient oxygen as a result of landfill pollution.
Researchers came up with a bizarre idea of scaring the herring away when they arrived at the fjord this year: playing music by The Rolling Stones. Their idea was based on using innovative sonic solutions in an attempt to drive the fish away. However, despite their best efforts, tracks such as Satisfaction and Brown Sugar failed to do the trick.
Star-Oddi, an organisation that collects data on animal behavior and aquatic environments, has conducted experiments such as playing various sounds in the fjord to try and scare the herring into swimming back out to see and, hopefully, keep them alive.
Star-Oddi’s Sigmar Guðbjörnsson admitted, however, that the experiment involving The Rolling Stones was more light-hearted than the researchers believing it could actually work. He joked that maybe they would be more afraid of other musicians and songs that have yet to be tested.
Other experiments the researchers have tried included the sound of killer whales, low frequency noises and the use of explosives. However, just as the case with The Rolling Stones music, all have been unsuccessful.