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A dead vaquita, killed by a gill net in the Gulf of California. Photo by Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures/Corbis
A dead vaquita, killed by a gill net in the Gulf of California. Photo by Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures/Corbis

Stories from the Seven Seas

Stories of life and death on the high seas. Oh, and swimming.

Authored by

by Colin Schultz

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Hakai Magazine is all about the coast, but other outlets sometimes share our fascination. Every week on Strand we round up our favorite coastal stories from around the web.

Disappearing porpoise: down to 97 and dropping fast

by Allie Wilkinson for The New York Times

“Found only in the northern Gulf of California, the remaining 97 vaquitas are threatened by gill-net fishing. Despite an emergency two-year ban enacted by the Mexican government in April, fishermen still use the nets.”


New species: hairy-chested yeti crab found in Antarctica

by Jason Bittel for National Geographic

“In search of the new yeti, in 2010 scientists piloted a remotely operated vehicle to the hydrothermal vents of East Scotia Ridge, more than 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) deep.

There, they found thriving communities of yeti crab, which live in environments harsher than any of their relatives.”


Born like stars

by Brent Hoff for Aeon

Footage via MBARI.


Lobster larvae show effects of climate change

by Harry Wilson for Canadian Geographic

“Scientists have identified the Gulf of Maine as a body of water that’s getting warmer and more acidic faster than anywhere else in the world. Canada and the United States share the waters of the gulf, which has long been an important area for a host of fisheries, including the lobster fishery. In recent years, warmer waters have contributed to an overabundance of lobster in the region, but that could change if warming continues.”


Is this new swim stroke the fastest yet?

by Regan Penaluna for Nautilus

“In the last few decades, stroke mechanic experts have discovered that swimming under the surface is faster than swimming on the surface. ‘It’s hard to fathom that this could happen in track and field,’ says Rick Madge, a swim coach and blogger. ‘Nobody is going to come up with a new way of running that is going to be faster than anything else. Yet we just did that in swimming.’ And the fish kick may be the fastest subsurface form yet.”