NECWA News Blog

On Saturday, March 7th, NECWA staff members Kathy Miller and Deb Munson presented a poster on thresher shark strandings on Cape Cod. This conference was sponsored by Mass Audubon and held at the Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable. This poster was put together by Krill Carson, John Chisholm (State Shark Biologist), Deb Munson, and Kathy Miller. The poster was very well received by conference participants. NECWA responds to strandings of various species of marine wildlife, esp. those that are overlooked by other organizations. We call them the "Marine Misfits." NECWA has been rescuing and documenting strandings for over 20 years which has created a very important long-term database for many marine misfits, including the ocean sunfish, torpedo ray, and various species of sharks. Please donate to NECWA to keep us in the field conducting rescues and research activities. We are a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and studying New England's unique coastal marine w...

Due to the recent Blizzard, DMF is extending the public comment period for Horseshoe Crabs harvested in the waters of MA. The second and last remote public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4th, starting at 6 pm. Please register and attend this Zoom meeting if possible. If you can not attend and comment via Zoom, you can email written comments through Friday, March 6th. Email to Director Dan McKiernan at marine.fish@mass.gov. The Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens has a great page on this species, the issues, and how to help. Go to https://pinebarrensalliance.org/horseshoe-crab-advocates/ . Also check out the Massachusetts Horseshoe Crab Coalition at https://horseshoecrabs.org We need good management of this species to ensure its continued survival in the coastal waters of New England. Your voice can make a difference. Learn the facts and make a statement on behalf of these amazing creatures.

  Dr. McCarthy holding the NECWA tissue samples. NECWA has recently collaborated with Dr. Morgan McCarthy, a postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Population Analysis and Monitoring at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Dr. McCarthy is a geneticist will be looking at tissue collected by NECWA from ocean sunfish and torpedo rays carcasses that have stranded in the New England area.  Ocean Sunfish tissue samples NECWA values these collaborations for it supports the research of scientists like Dr. McCarthy, a dedicated and passionate researcher working to better understand these unusual species. In this photo, Dr. McCarthy is just back from the US, holding the tissue samples that NECWA provided. Can't wait to hear the results of his analysis

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...

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...

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...