NECWA News Blog

          June marks the beginning of NECWA’s season of assisting diamondback terrapin turtles as they attempt to nest comfortably within sandy areas of Massachusetts. Since diamondback terrapins typically return to the same location each year to next, this task has become increasingly perilous for the turtles as they must traverse new roadways and avoid being struck by vehicles in order to reach their nesting areas.  On June 7 th , NECWA volunteers located one diamondback terrapin nest in a Marion turtle garden and surrounded it with a protective cage to dissuade predators, such as foxes and raccoons, from consuming the eggs within. Furthermore, NECWA volunteers assisted three adult female diamondback terrapins spotted in Wareham.  Unlike the populations of land-dwelling turtles during the spring, which typically include sizable numbers of both male and female turtles, semi-aquatic turtles discovered on land, such as terrapins, are predominantly ...

  We wish you a very happy World Ocean's Day. Keep fighting for our oceans and the amazing life that calls it home.  One way to support World Ocean's Day is to write your congressmen/women and the President to encourage them to stop the Trump Administration's dismantling of the ocean-floor observation network. This network collects critical climate data on coastal environments, marine ecosystems and powerful global ocean currents. These arrays also help scientists measure and track biogeochemical cycles, marine food webs, and coastal dynamics, and fisheries. This network has provided continuous, real-time climate data to researchers around the world for over 25 years. To learn more, check out these websites: CNN The Guardian

Yesterday (May 18, 20926) NECWA intern Natalie Hartley joined NECWA volunteer staff members Seth Cohen and Kathy Miller for a horseshoe crab survey sponsored by Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay. These spawning surveys help scientists at the Div. of Marine Fisheries estimate population size and status for this very important, key stone species. NECWA provides these type of activities to all interns to support their professional growth and development. This type of field and lab work allows high school and college interns interested in marine biology and marine science to grow in their field of choice and to build their resume.  Hopefully these types of experiences will help our interns move on to the next internship, job, or degree program. NECWA works with over 60 interns each year and we feel that this is a very important mission for our organization. Often there is no other way to get the experience needed than to do. This type of hands-on learning is essential for our intern's grow...

Here are 2 of NECWA's Headstart terrapins filmed this week in the Bourne Elementary School. This beautiful pair is getting a late afternoon bite to eat under the supervision of STEM teacher Ms. Toni Perry. Ms. Perry has been a long-term participant in NECWA's Headstart program and does an incredible job with the kids, the terrapins, and this conservation mission. Click HERE to watch the TikTok video clip. 

Hot off the press! "This week we're heading to New England to get to know its very large, blobby, thick-tailed electric ray that's super cool but not well-understood. In this episode, we get a peek into the torpedo ray's personality and deep dive into the how-tos and value of rescuing and necropsying stranded fish. Guy ponders if anyone has used uterine "milk" to make a cheese and Katrina wonders about historical accounts of these fish being used to cure migraines and gout. Our guest is Carol "Krill" Carson from the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance." To listen to the podcast with NECWA President and Founder, Krill Carson, click HERE .

Happy Mother's Day to all the ladies out there! Thank you for your nurturing spirit of "mothering" that extends to family, friends, colleagues and strangers alike. This sentiment honors all women for their care, strength, courage, and positive impact on the health and wellbeing of others and the planet.

Comment period open for possible deregulation of federal rule regarding speed restrictions to protect North Atlantic Right Whales . The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  is accepting public comments until June 2, 2026 as they consider deregulating the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule established in 2008. This rule set in place  seasonal and mandatory vessel speed restrictions in designated areas along the East Coast of the US in an attempt to reduce the risk of vessel collisions with this critically endangered species.  This population was decimated by commercial whaling in the early 1900.s for this species is slow-moving, often travels and feeds close to shore, and has so much blubber under it's skin that it floats when killed. These features and characteristics is how they got their common name "Right Whale" for they were the right whale to kill. Currently, the biggest threats to their continued survival include vessel strikes, entangle...

13th Annual Herring Festival at Oliver Mills Park, Middleboro, MA. Article by Will Singe r.  This weekend was the 13th Annual Herring Run Festival at Oliver Mills Park in Middleboro, MA. For years, I’ve heard legends about this event for it brings the community together to have fun, eat and drink all the while listening to live music by local musicians. Everyone was here to witness a fascinating natural phenomena that happens every spring, river herring migrating from their ocean home to freshwater ponds and lakes in order to spawn.   River Herring refer to two different species of fish that are very similar in appearance and often difficult to tell apart: alewife and blueback herring. They are anadromous fish for each spring they migrate from their ocean. home to freshwater ponds and lakes to breed. This phenomenon typically begin in March, peaks in April, and ends in June. R iver herring travel miles upstream to reach the place where they were born. On this journe...