Joe Roman writes about mammals that open water swimmers encounter from Maui to the Maldives.

In his book Whale, the conservation biologist from Vermont explores the role cetaceans have played in history, the human imagination, and the oceans themselves.

Roman also penned a great piece in Slate where he writes about fishing with dolphins. He begins with, “In the 20th century, humans trained thousands of dolphins. They taught them to “walk” backward in aquariums in the manner of Flipper, to be brushed and fondled in theme parks, and to detect underwater explosives for the military….the Navy scientists ultimately decided to try speaking to them in Hawaiian, on the grounds that this language seemed likely to be closest to their own…The Navy is set to phase out its sea mammal program beginning in 2017, the mine-hunting dolphins to be replaced by underwater drones…“

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