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...