November 29, 2012 Ocean Sunfish Stranding on Sandy Neck Beach, Barnstable MA

-

Ocean Sunfish Stranding - Barnstable MA


Dead ocean sunfish on the beach.
Just when I thought there was going to be a little down time, I get a call from Ranger Nina Coleman at the Sandy Neck Beach Park about a dead ocean sunfish in the surf.

The crew! Ranger Nina, Ed, Kevin and Christine. 

Over the past few days, Ranger Nina and her team have been picking up many cold-stunned sea turtles so this was a bit of a change for them. Ranger Nina met me at the Park's Gatehouse around 1 pm and offered to drive me to the carcass. Once I transferred all my gear and equipment to the park's 4-wheel drive truck, we were off and were accompanied by two local journalists, Christine and Kevin.

Ocean sunfish getting weighed.
We were met down at the beach by resident Ed White who took an interest in this carcass. With Ed's help, I was able to weigh this carcass which Nina had very accurately predicted to be around 368 lbs.

Ed photographing the carcass. 

Ranger Nina had to return to the Gatehouse and were joined by Kevin and Christine. But Ed stayed on to help me take down NECWA's portable weighing trips and collect measurements on the carcass. I have measured many ocean sunfish carcasses by myself, but it is so much easier and so much nicer to have excellent company like Eds. We chatted away as we continued to work through the early afternoon.

Ovary removed from the carcass. 
I opened the body cavity to find the gonad in order to determine the sex of this carcass. This was a girl! Unlike most bony fish, ocean sunfish have only 1 gonad. But female ocean sunfish are said to produce the largest number of eggs over the course of their lifetime, over 300 million!

As I continued to work, Ed had to leave to pick up his daughter. With a little extra time on my hands as I waited for Ranger Nina to return, I extracted the entire digestive tract from the carcass. The length of the entire digestive tract from the beginning of the stomach to the end of the large intestine was 21 feet.


Ranger Nina helped me clean up and then we were off to the Gatehouse once again. Thanks so much to Ranger Nina and the other rangers who work under her. What an incredible team! And thanks to Ed for all his help today. Again, I meet the nicest people doing this work with ocean sunfish and am surprised at how knowledgable people are about the natural life around them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Electric Torpedo Ray of New England

-
Image
The Shocking Ray of New England Blog by  Coleman Earner - December 21, 2020 Dead Torpedo Ray in Brewster, MA Torpedo Rays are a genus of rays that are part of the Order  Torpediniformes (electric rays). In reference to local sightings, the most commonly seen torpedo ray in the Cape Cod region is the Atlantic Torpedo ( Torpedo nobiliana ). They are cartilaginous fish (most similar to the structure of sharks and skates) with a flat and rounded disc-like structure. As suggested by their order, torpedo rays are most commonly known for their ability to discharge electricity of up to 220 volts from both pectoral fins (pectoral fins are flat and expanded and fused to the head area) as a self defense mechanism or as a means of capturing prey. Their feeding strategy consists of burying themselves under the sand and waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander by.  Dead Torpedo Ray on a Cape Cod Beach. Torpedo Rays feed mainly on benthic/pelagic fish such as flounders, damselfish, and o...
Read more
-
Image
NECWA Shark Week In Review Written by Emily Gerrior Intern Sarah helping at the blockprinting table. On July 24, 2024 and July 26, 2024, NECWA hosted two events themed around Shark Week. The first was at the Middleborough Public Library and the second was at the Bridgewater Public Library. For both events, we set up stations where attendees could make their own authentic shark tooth necklaces and create colorful block prints of sharks and other marine wildlife.  Free educational material for all Along with our assortment of diamondback terrapin, horseshoe crabs, and ocean sunfish artifacts, we also had shark jaws and a real fossil megalodon tooth on display.  Marine wildlife artifacts on display As soon as we opened the doors to both events, attendees poured into the room! The megalodon tooth and the shark tooth necklace station proved to be extremely popular among younger attendees. We also received several questions about our other marine life artifacts, which we w...
Read more

Ice Cream Social for NECWA Interns and Volunteers

-
Image
INTERN AND VOLUNTEER ICE CREAM SOCIAL AND FUN DAY   Written by Emily Gerrior Last Sunday (July 14 th , 2024), interns and volunteers were treated to an ice cream social, courtesy of NECWA. This event took place on the lawn outside NECWA’s Marion Field office. This event marked my first time meeting many of the interns outside of our weekly ZOOM meetings. I was also pleased to see many of the interns I had already worked with during previous NECWA educational events.  There was plenty of ice cream of all flavors to go around, served with reusable bowls and spoons, as well as popsicles, a fruit salad, chips, and cool drinks. After days of sweltering heat, it was certainly nice to have a cold treat!  Additionally, there were games for us to play. Some attendees chose to play cards and Jenga, while others participated in lawn games such as cornhole. We also swapped stories about NECWA events and successes.  Throughout the social, we had surprise visits from several (ador...
Read more