I love to listen to music while I work. It relaxes me, puts me into the right frame of mind and blocks out all the noise. However, there is only so much classic, and lite Jazz a man can take in one day. The British Library has released a new CD called “Sounds of the Deep, An exploration of life in our seas”.

Not everyone gets to explore the world under the water and not all divers get to hear the song of the Humpback Whale as it travels through winter breeding grounds. I can speak from certain experience that I myself have never heard the humming courtship call of the male haddock. That is right! Haddock mating calls.

The Haddock mating calls are heard in the deep cold waters of the North Sea. The sounds start off as a loud knocking sound then blend into a hum. The recording was actually put together in a studio, where they coaxed a male haddock to emit the sound of love. However, Professor Tony Hawkins has made recordings of mating haddock in the wilds. They seem to make these sounds in the evening and till late at night and of course the bigger the haddock the better the sound and the more pleasing to the female

Why all the fuss about recordings of Haddock mating. Well Professor Hawkins believes that the more we understand the mating of fish the better we are to ensure the future for the species. By keeping large noisy ships away from shipping grounds during mating season we can help make certain the success of the species.

So if you are looking to replace the classical CD in your computer drive with a CD recording of animals, and fish from the icy waters of the Antartic to the tropical seas of the Carribean, Sounds of the Deep is your CD. For more information visit the British Library of Sounds.