NECWA News Blog

Want to know a great thing about human beings? I believe it is fair to say, that most people who see another person or animal suffering feel inclined not only to sympathy, but also to action. There was a video recently which went viral because it tugged at the heartstrings. This video was of a sea turtle with a foreign object lodged in its nose. This object turned out to be a 4 inch plastic straw. A team of scientists found this sea turtle while doing research in the field and removed the plastic from the animal’s nose. Plastic, although sometimes useful, can be detrimental to marine wildlife, and the environment as a whole. Photo taken from National Geographic Plastic, although a seemingly affordable resource in manufacturing, has many long-term and detrimental consequences. Plastic does not ever fully go away. Even when being made smaller through bio or photo-degradation, there are many factors that affect and inhibit upon these natural and chemical processes....

Researcher Aimee Carlson presenting on recent ocean sunfish tagging activities. What does it mean to be a member of Team Mola? On a small scale, it means working with friends and neighbors on a community-based project focused on the heaviest bony fish in the world - the Ocean Sunfish. The mission of this team is to better understand and protect Ocean Sunfish, or Mola mola , that live and feed off the shores of New England.  Fisheries Biologist Aimee Carlson On Saturday, September 20th, the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA) in collaboration with Coonamessett Farm Foundation and Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary hosted their first Team Mola training session at the Mass Audubon sanctuary in Wellfleet, MA. The goal of Team Mola is to build a network of volunteers that can assist NECWA with rescues and necropsies of ocean sunfish strandings. These strandings are annual event that occur each fall and early winter, typically along the shores of Cape Cod.  Ma...

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...