The number of ships that can travel through the vital route has fallen sharply this year because of a lack of water for the locks, raising costs and slowing deliveries.
The photographer Sutton Lynch is documenting a dramatic turning point off the coast of Long Island — a resurgence of sea life after decades of depletion.
He was the first Black person to sail alone by way of the arduous southern route, rounding the perilous Cape Horn and withstanding storms and loneliness.