NECWA News Blog

Ocean Exploration Cruise - NECWA Fall Fundraiser Sunday, September 30, 2018 7 am to 1 pm Privateer IV, 7 Seas Whale Watch Marine Forecast Links: National Weather Service Stellwagen Bank - click   HERE O ffshore Buoy Data - Boston - click HERE UPDATE - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH - for those who have registered for this trip. NECWA News Blog Updates.  Check the NECWA News blog for any changes or updates to our trip.  Right now, seas are looking a bit rough offshore so take your motion sickness pills in advance. Eat a light breakfast and stay away from greasy foods. We will have Saltines and Ginger Ale onboard if you need it.  Guest Naturalists for tomorrow . We are very excited about this Ocean Exploration Cruise as we will have amazing guest naturalists onboard the boat and on the microphone. Guest naturalists will include Wayne Petersen, Jim Sweeney, Thomas Robben and Adrian Jordaan.  Captain Jay onboard.  Tomorrow our captain wil...

Marine debris is causing high levels of contamination in our world’s oceans. Its presence in the once pristine waters that are home to all aquatic species accounts for a high number of marine wildlife deaths on a global scale. Plastic is the primary environmental pollutant in our waters and it makes up approximately 80% of all of the debris that is creating the critical habitat crisis of Marine Debris. We have an infinite variety of uses for plastics in our society, everything from children’s toys and necessary medical equipment that keeps people alive and healthy, to plastic drinking straws and fleece jackets. Until technology catches up with our need to find alternatives to our current uses of plastics, we are essentially in a position to find plastics present in our lives somewhere even if our goal is to live a “zero plastic” lifestyle. A major issue with all of the currently indispensable plastic items in our lives is that plastic is a petroleum-based material and, once...

Ocean Exploration Cruise Sunday, June 3, 2018 7 am to 1 pm Onboard the Privateer IV with 7 Seas Whale Watch 7 Rogers Street, Gloucester ====================================================================== Date of this Posting: Saturday, June 2, 2018 Status of Trip on June 3: A GO ! Hi: I was just offshore today and winds were calmer than predicted with almost no seas offshore. Our trip tomorrow at 7 am continues to be a go. I assume winds will increase over the course of the night and early morning, so we expect to sneak this trip in before it gets nasty offshore. The marine forecast for Monday through Thursday is not good so this may be the last trip offshore for a few days.  Please be down at the 7 Seas Whale Watch dock at 6:30 am and we will board as soon as we can. Bring food, drinks, and dress appropriately. Keep your belongings to a  minimum  so everyone will have space. NECWA will bring some merchandise onboard to help raise funds for our projec...

Anna Du, a 6th grade student at the Andover School of Massachusetts, won First Prize at the Regional IV Middle School Science & Engineering Fair. Read about her amazing science project below.  Developing a Smart Infrared-Based ROV to Identify Microplastics in the Marine Environment. The world is facing a threatening problem of microplastics in the ocean. Microplastics, which are plastics the size of 10 um to 5 mm are accumulating everywhere, and its effect on the environment is disastrous. As of 2017, 8 million metric tons have been dumped into the ocean. Not only do the animals in the ocean get affected, humans do as well through a few different means. We can eat fish directly, or eat farm animals that depend on seafood byproducts, or we can eat vegetables that used the animal’s manure as fertilizer. It's very difficult to separate   microplastics from microorganisms and other particles in the ocean; using density, filtration, and chemical techniques have ...

Our Fluke Canvas Bag makes a great summer beach tote and can also be used at the grocery store for shopping or for traveling. Made of 100% Earth-friendly cotton  and Mr. Koda approved.  Design includes 10 humpback whales flukes with the name of the individual below. Each humpback whale is studied by researchers in the Gulf of Maine and this information is helping us better understand and protect this protected species. Our newest high school intern, Maddie, modeling her bag.  This is a one-of-a-kind item only available on through NECWA. To purchase your tote today, go to the NECWA Store using the link to the right of this posting.

Paige at Buzzards Bay Recreation Area Photo Credit: John Pribilla On April 21, 2018, as part of my internship at the Cape Cod Canal with the US Army Corp. of Engineers, I had the opportunity to volunteer for their Earth Day celebration. This annual celebration was hosted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, organized by AmeriCorps Cape Cod, and was held at the Buzzards Bay Recreation Area. I assisted with the set-up for the event, and while I was working, I had the time to review a few of the organization’s earth-friendly themed displays. The one display that caught my attention the most was what happens to discarded litter over time. The poster demonstrated the length of time it took for various types of trash to decompose in the natural environment. I was surprised at how long it takes to break down common items to their base elements, such as monofilament line, Styrofoam cups, tin cans, six pack can holders, drinking straws, and plastic bags. Marine Debris from the Cape C...

Photo credit: NECWA No North Atlantic right whale calves were born in 2018. At least none were seen in the southeast waters off South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, the only known calving grounds for this species. In 2017, only five calves were born, down from counts of 15 to more than 35 between 2001 and 2011. Maybe the right whale moms weren’t healthy enough or well-nourished enough to give birth to and nurse a calf, saving their energy for a year when they and the calves would be more likely to survive. Maybe the stress and physical wear from entanglements in fishing line has increased the time right whale mothers need to wait after raising one baby to have another. Maybe we didn’t see them. Whatever the case, this is bad for the right whale’s future. Since 1986, when researchers began counting the number of calves each year, there has never been a year with no calves. To read more about right whales, click HERE for a short review by Dr. Scott Krauss from the Anderson Ca...

Hello, this is Ingrid again! This week I am writing about hopeful solutions for protecting the North Atlantic right whale.                                                                     Photograph credit: Carol Carson The North Atlantic right whale species will go extinct if we have more years like 2017. In 2017, at least 17 North Atlantic right whales were killed, 12 of them in Canadian waters, from entanglements in fishing gear and from ship strikes. At least some of the entanglements that killed right whales in Canada were from whales that got wrapped up in ropes used in the snow crab fishery. In the US, whales are often entangled in ropes used in the lobster fishery. Canadian and US fishermen, politicians, managers, scientists, environmentalists, and the public know the right whales need help ...

2018 Fundraiser to help NECWA. Help raise money for NECWA by donating your used items to SAVERS in Plymouth. When you drop off at SAVERS, tell them that you are donating on behalf of NECWA and NECWA will receive money for each item you donate. Date: Saturday, April 21, 2018 Time: 10 am - 2 pm Location: SAVERS, Plymouth, 10 Pilgrim Hill Road

                                                                                                                                   Photograph Credit: Krill Carson Hi! This is Ingrid Biedron again, and this week I'd like to highlight North Atlantic right whales. No new North Atlantic right whale calves have been sighted this season. Usually right whale calves are seen in January and February in ocean waters from Georgia to Florida. On average, about 17 calves are born per year. 2017 was a tragic year for the North Atlantic right whale. At least 17 right whales were found dead, 12 in Canada and 5 in the United States (US). Right whale fluking off R...

Hot off the press, this toddler shirt is super adorable for anyone who loves whales!  How can you say no to this shirt with the text ""I'm as cute as a baby whale!" The baby humpback whale design is the creation of artist Mary Jo Danton. This 100% cotton, 5.5 oz shirt comes in two colors: pink and aqua colors.  Toddler sizes to choose from are 2T, 3T, 4T, 5-6 and 7. All toddler shirts are $13 plus shipping and handling. To purchase yours today and support NECWA's projects and activities, go to our NECWA online Store by clicking HERE . All proceeds from the sale of merchandise through NECWA's online store go to support our many projects and activities.  Thank you!

NECWA will once again have a booth at the New England Saltwater Fishing Show from March 9th through March 11th.  We will be chatting up our New England Basking Shark and Ocean Sunfish Sighting Project (www.nebshark.org) as well as our Diamondback Terrapin Sighting Project. You can pick-up our free sighting keytags for these projects as well as Mass Audubon's Sea Turtle Sighting Network. Stop by the booth and say hello to the NECWA crew! We will have lots of free give-aways as well as a few things for purchase to help support our efforts.  See you there!