NECWA News Blog

NECWA in action is what it is all about! We understand the importance of educational outreach to interested young professionals like the Cadets at Mass Maritime Academy. Last week, Krill Carson and Helen Granger presented NECWA's work with marine wildlife strandings to a group of interested cadets. At the end of Krill's presentation, Jack Gerrior and Coleman Earner talked about their experiences with NECWA last fall and early winter as they worked with NECWA through the college's coop program. Both were eager to talk about their work and experiences out in the field rescuing live animals and documenting dead ones. Jack and Coleman were amazing members of our team last fall and we miss them very much. But we are so proud of all of their work and accomplishments.

Natural History Museum hosts presentation on protection of local wildlife Nov 9, 2021 To see the article online, click Sippican Week The Marion Natural History Museum welcomed the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance last week to learn about what can be done to rescue Diamondback terrapins and Ocean sunfish in the area. Terrapins live in the brackish coastal waters off our coast and nest along our sandy beaches. Ocean sunfish swim in the open waters along our coast and due to their distinctive dorsal fins — which wave above the water surface — are occasionally mistaken for sharks when viewed from a distance. The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance showed attendees how they are working to protect terrapins as well as helping sunfish who find themselves stranded in water too shallow for them to escape and get back out to the open ocean. The museum thanked Krill Carson and the volunteers at the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance for all their work protecting these important species.

Happy Earth Day from all of us at NECWA. Each day we have the opportunity to do something positive for Mother Earth. Some actions are small like using reusable bags at the grocery store and some are big, like purchasing an electric vehicle. No matter how significant the action, each one makes a difference, especially when we combine actions and work together. Lets' work hard to make every day Earth Day. Our survival depends on a healthy and diverse planet as does the survival of all life on Earth. We are connected, we are One!

Earlier this month, NECWA was contacted about some very sad news. Our good friend, colleague and biggest supporter, Dr. John Jahoda, died from a long battle with a rare form of liver cancer. You can click HERE to read John's obituary.  This series of photos are of John when he joined me and Dani on Aucoot Beach in Marion, MA in July of 2017. I had asked John if he would identify the various plants on Aucoot Beach for me in preparation of a vegetation study that I was putting together for the nonprofit. Dani and I had so much fun listening and learning from John that day and still remember how amazed we were with John's ability to know all the names and life histories of each of the plants we found. John was a trained zoologist but knew all about plants, environments and just about everything and anything. He was brilliant but he never made a show of all that he knew. He was a gracious, wonderful and supportive teacher and mentor with me and with all of his students, regardless ...

During the 2020 stranding season on Cape Cod, NECWA documented the first stranded adult shirttail mola. This is a more tropical species compared to the common mola, the species that typically strands on the shores of Cape Cod each fall and early winter.  On April 16, 2021, Cory Farrelly, a NECWA volunteer, who recently graduated from UMASS Dartmouth in Marine Biology, presented a poster on this stranding in collaboration with NECWA's President Krill Carson and other researchers also studying these unusual species.  Click on the poster below to enlarge. Working with our interns and volunteers on scientific posters and presentations is what NECWA is about. This provides the experience and opportunities that these young professionals need as they grow in the field of marine science.  Please donate to NECWA to help us continue this important mission. NECWA works with over 60 high school and college interns each year as we train the scientists, journalist, educators, etc. of t...

  Where are our NECWA interns now? Jessica Bethoney interned and volunteered at NECWA from 2014 to 2015. She was a NECWA whale research intern on the whale watch boats in Plymouth, MA where she was responsible for collecting, identifying and organizing Humpback whale research. In the winter, Jessica volunteered to look for cold-stunned sea turtles along Cape Cod along while also assisting with necropsies of sea turtle and ocean sunfish. Today, Jessica is a Zebrafish Aquatics Facility Manager at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Smiches Research Building. In this facility, she provides husbandry care for over 1500 zebrafish tanks. Jessica assists the multiple researchers who use zebrafish embryos to identify genetic pathways that are responsible for birth anomalies, regrow ligaments and tendons for people who are missing a limb and cancer research.  In her spare time, Jessica enjoys scuba diving, hiking, kayaking, drawing but most of all photography. She continues t...

Hello! My name is Austyn Morin. I am currently a senior at Stonehill College, majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Spanish and German. I have always been interested in the outdoors, spending lots of my free time hiking and fishing in Vermont. This has allowed me to gain a deep appreciation for the local wildlife. Those experiences have inspired me to pursue a career in wildlife biology and conservation. Austyn (on left) and David (right) with rescued live sea turtle. So, naturally, I wanted to do something that would allow me to work with the wildlife of Massachusetts.  I first heard of NECWA through Stonehill College and other students that had interned here. The first activities I participated in had to do with NECWA’s Ocean Sunfish Project, which involved responding to stranded Ocean Sunfish reports and returning them to the water if they were still alive. On one chilly November morning in East Sandwich, I had the opportunity to help return an Ocean Sunfish to ...

Coleman with dead Common Dolphin at Linnell Landin, Brewster, MA. Hello! My name is Coleman Earner and I am in my Junior year at the Massachusetts Maritime   Academy (MMA). I am currently studying Marine Science, Safety, and Environmental Protection (MSSEP) with a minor in Marine Biology. From a young age, I was fascinated by the ocean ecosystem and all of its moving parts. Since then, I’ve known for certain that I wanted to pursue the field of Marine Biology. During my time at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, I became especially interested in the phenomenon of stranded marine life. Participating in marine wildlife rescues and field research are activities that I’ve wanted to become involved in for a long time. I first heard about NECWA through one of Mass Maritime’s Career fairs as well as recommendations from various fellow students, which drove me to become more involved with their program through a MMA Winter Co-op Program.     Dead Ocean Sunfish stranded on G...

Stranded dead Gray Triggerfish on Great Island, Wellfleet  on 11/21/2020 by Holly Kuhn The Gray Triggerfish ( Balistes capriscus ), also known as a Leatherjacket or Taly, belongs to the Balistidae or the triggerfish family, containing about 40 species altogether. Their most identifiable feature is their front spiny dorsal fin, which gives the Gray Triggerfish its name because they use their front dorsal fin as a defense mechanism against predators. When threatened, the Gray Triggerfish will move into a rocky crevice and erect their front dorsal fin, locking them into place. The Gray Triggerfish has been known to become stranded on Cape Cod's beaches, so it is important to note other important physical features. Mainly since the physical characteristics of the Gray Triggerfish can change depending on age and sex. That way, if one is identified, you can take photos of it and take note of its location. In general they have large plate-like scales at the front of their body, but they b...

Hello! I am an undergraduate student at Bridgewater State University, and am pursuing a Biology major, as well as a Music minor. I discovered NECWA through my University and have been working as a field research intern starting in November. With NECWA, I have had the opportunity of working with various types of marine wildlife that strand along the shores of Cape Cod. On some occasions , I have walked beaches looking to locate and rescue stranded cold stunned sea turtles in collaboration with Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet, MA. At other times, my walks have focused on finding and necropsying Western Atlantic torpedo rays and ocean sunfish. I have also been involved in a number of sea bird rescues that also occur this time of the year. David Madden at Paine's Creek, Brewster, MA A new project that NECWA initiated this stranding season was focused on the Western Atlantic Torpedo, an electric ray found in the waters off of the Cape. Each fall and early winter, torpedo...

  Highlight of one of NECWA'a Fall/Winter Interns, Jack Gerrior. Jack rescuing a frog trapped in one of the fish ladders at the Wareham Street ladder. Hello there! I am a second class (2/C) cadet at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the Marine Science, Safety, and Environmental Protection Program (MSSEP)and have been additionally pursuing a minor in Marine Biology. With the support of marine ecologist Professor William Hubbard, I have been able to work at the on-campus Aquaculture and Marine Sciences Laboratory where ongoing studies regarding marine species local to Cape Cod (i.e. Tautog, American Lobster, Black Sea Bass, and Deep Sea Scallops) are being conducted with other student-led research projects. Jack necropsying a torpedo ray carcass in Provincetown, MA I was first introduced to NECWA at a talk given by Krill at the Academy regarding her Ocean Sunfish Project, where she discussed the data she had been taking on Ocean Sunfish ( Mola mola) that had stranded each winter...