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Live torpedo ray rescued by NECWA at Bay View Beach, Dennis, MA

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The marine wildlife stranding season is not over yet! This afternoon, NECWA received a call about a stranded torpedo ray just north of Bay View Beach, Dennis, MA. Laura and Jim, both members of a community walking group, Dennis Beach Walkers, rushed down to the beach and found that the ray was still alive. NECWA volunteers, Krill and Finn were on the way down from off Cape. Once on-site, Krill did her annual polar plunge and walked the fish back out to deep water. Due to the extensive tidal flats in that area, the fish washed back in, so Krill did another round of polar plunges to finally get the fish into deeper water. This fish had been stranded out of the water for over 45 minutes and was very weak when the team arrived on-site. But when they picked up the tail stock to get it on the sled, it wiggled and tried to pull its tail back which are all good signs. Fingers crossed that this animal makes it. Please the NECWA stranding hotline (508-566-0009) if you come upon a stranded torped...
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Where are they now? An update from 2023 NECWA volunteer Carly Burns

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Carly Burns was a volunteer during the 2023 NECWA Summer Diamondback terrapin field season and the fall Marine Wildlife stranding season. Carly especially loved working with ocean sunfish (Mola mola), which helped her to realize her love for fieldwork and marine biology. This inspired her to become a New England Fisheries Observer with AIS and NOAA. She worked on commercial fishing boats all over New England, collecting data about bycatch and marine mammals. The experience she gained working in Wellfleet Harbor helped prepare her for the rough weather out at sea. Her education at the University of Maryland was focused on ecosystem restoration with limited focus in marine biology. Her experience with NECWA filled the gaps in her transcript allowing her to participate in this unique fieldwork opportunity. Carly says “I truly owe all of my initial fieldwork education to Krill and NECWA. This experience taught me the importance of accurate and specific data collection in the field. Being a...
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2025 Stranding Season is not over yet!

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The stranding season doesn't seem to be over just yet. Over the past 2 days, NECWA has responded to 3 dead torpedo rays. All adult females and all carcasses washed ashore near Corporation Beach, Dennis, MA. Two carcasses washed up east of the main parking lot at Corporation (after Dr. Lords) and one washed ashore west of the Corporation parking lot as you head towards BayView. All 3 carcasses appeared to be healthy and two had digested food in their stomachs. Again we are not sure why these beautiful fish are stranding in the late fall and early winter, but we think it might have something to do with habitat shifts. Perhaps torpedo rays come into shallow water this time of the year, making them more susceptible to strandings on tidal flats when the tide goes out. Once high and dry, they are now impacted by cold air temperatures, even lower wind chill temps, and a lack of oxygen to their gills. Once NECWA has concluded our internal and external exams (necropsy), we mark the carca...
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Cape Beach Walking for Wildlife

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Yesterday NECWA walked Corporation Beach in Dennis looking for stranded marine widllife. Visibility was reduced due to fog but winds were light and air temperatures hovered around 35 deg. Not bad walking conditions for a January morning stroll! And great views at one of our favorite geese, Brant!
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Stop the Trump Administration's Attempt to Remove Protections from the Endangered Species Act

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The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 is being targeted by the Trump Administration.  There is a proposal to rollback the ESA from 2024 rules to the 2019 framework, which introduces four key negative impacts. Join NECWA in opposing rollbacks to the ESA by sending in comments. Please send an email message by December 22 2025 to let them know that this landmark piece of legislation must be protected.  Your voice matters so please speak up for nature! Comment Period Ends:  Dec 22, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST To Comment Online:  1- Navigate to the Rule Change Page: 2- Once on that page, click on the "Comment" button on the upper left of the page to type in our upload your comment.  Here are the links to each page: Designation Critical Habitat Listing Endangered and Threatened Species Threatened Species "Blanket Rule" Interagency Consultation and Compliance SAMPLE COMMENTS:  Endangered and Threatened Species: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Pla...
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A very busy stranding day

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Today was a very busy day for NECWA staff, volunteers and interns. We started our day by dividing up into teams. Some walked beach and scouted for stranded animals in the Wellfleet area while others manned the NECWA table at the DY Holiday Craft Fair. By late afternoon, we thought we were in the clear but then we got multiple calls about live stranded animals in different areas of the Cape. Anzo and Matt rescuing the Kemp's Ridley First our NECWA college volunteers found a live Kemps Ridley sea turtle just south of Duck Harbor, Wellfleet and passed it off to Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay. Then one of our volunteers's husband, Jason, called in about a stranded torpedo ray off Cooks Brook Beach in Eastham. This fish was still alive so Jason got it back into deep water and the animal swam away. Stranded live torpedo ray Seconds later, calls came in about a live ocean sunfish stranded in shallow water between Cooks Brook Beach and Campground Beach. With the help of local residents,...
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NECWA Interns Highlighted in the Cape Cod Times

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The Cape Cod Times just posted a wonderful article on the NECWA summer Internship. To read the article click HERE. This summer, NECWA is working with 37 interns, both high school and college. NECWA internships are volunteer positions but sometimes a student can apply for a grant or honorarium through their college or university. Internships provide hands-on opportunities for these young professionals in various fields, not just those related to marine biology.  NECWA Internship breakdown for this summer: Field Researchers - 25 Graphic Designers - 6 Animators - 2 Marketing & Fundraising - 4 The largest group of interns are field researchers who are focused on rescuing and researching diamondback terrapins in the waters around Buzzards Bay. We have field teams on both sides of the Bourne Bridge and someone is in the field to respond to calls on the NECWA rescue hotline from 7 am to 7 pm, 7 days a week.  Although NECWA offers internships year round, the majority of our intern...
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