Long Story Shorts: Why Do Fish Have Gas? @HakaiVideos

Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Fish have bladders, but not the one you’re thinking of. These swim bladders put the buoyancy control of scuba divers to shame.

Hey, teachers! Here’s a cheat sheet of what’s included in this episode of Long Story Shorts:
- Scuba-diving and buoyancy compensators
- Swim bladders: what they do, how they work, open and closed types of swim bladders, alternatives to swim bladders
- Herring, rockfish, black tip reef shark, flounder

This episode is part of our series Long Story Shorts—fun, quick explainers about all things coastal science!

This video series is endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development as a Decade Activity. Find out more about the Ocean Decade here: oceandecade.org

Created by the Hakai Institute
Series produced by Kristina Blanchflower and Katrina Pyne
Written, edited, and narrated by Kristina Blanchflower
Illustrations by Mercedes Minck
Science consultation provided by Kelly Fretwell and Josh Silberg

Long Story Shorts: Why Do Fish Have Gas?

$The Living Estuary: Bears How are grizzly and black bears connected to the health of estuaries and neighboring forests in British Columbia? Find out in this short video made in collaboration with our friends at the Nature Trust of British Columbia (www.estuaryresilience.ca). Hey, teachers! Here’s a cheat sheet of what’s included in this episode of The Living Estuary: - What estuary foods bears and their cubs eat after they come out of hibernation, and then to fatten up over the summer - The role bears play in transferring nutrients from the ocean to the forest - Grizzly bear, black bear, sedge, grass, forb, berry, crab, salmon This video is part of the series The Living Estuary. Estuaries form where rivers meet the sea—they are the gateways between fresh and salt water. And though they make up only a small fraction of British Columbia’s coastline, these dynamic and vibrant ecosystems are home to the vast majority of our coastal wildlife. Join us as we celebrate the plants and animals who call estuaries home in this series of short videos. Created by the Hakai Institute for the Nature Trust of British Columbia Executive produced by Meigan Henry Written and edited by Bennett Whitnell Narrated by Kristina Blanchflower Videography by Kristina Blanchflower, Grant Callegari, and Bennett Whitnell Additional imagery provided by Storyblocks Science consultation provided by Kelly Fretwell and Josh Silberg$

Long Story Shorts: Les poissons ont des gaz?