Fall Stranding Season is soon upon us!

-

Fall Stranding Season is soon upon us.

As we approach the fall stranding season, please report your sightings of these unusual New England fish to our online stranding network at www.necwa.org. NECWA is one of the few organizations that rescues these animals when they strand live or necropsies carcasses when they wash ashore. This information is helping us better understand and protect these unusual fish that live in our New England waters.
To support this work, please donate today through Facebook or our website at www.necwa.org. NECWA is an all-volunteer nonprofit so this money will be used to purchase needed rescue and research gear and supplies. Last season, NECWA responded to 110 stranded ocean sunfish, 58 stranded torpedo rays, and 45 stranded triggerfish. It was a very busy stranding season and numbers are continuing to climb each year. Thank you!

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 other small fis
Read more

Ocean sunfish stranding at Linnell Landing - October 9, 2010

-
Image
This afternoon, Chris called about an ocean sunfish that stranded dead at the end of Linnell Landing in Brewster, MA. Krill Carson along with two NECWA interns, Nick Schomburg and Caitlyn Dionne, headed down or met at Linnell Landing in the late afternoon. When they arrived on the shores of Cape Cod Bay, a crowd was gathering around the ocean sunfish carcass that was just off the beach parking lot. This sunfish was almost 6 feet in length and some of the beachgoers indicated that it had come up on the beach around 2 pm that day. At first, it was difficult to look at the deep propellor scars that cut through the dorsal (top) surface of the sunfish and extended into its left flank. But sunset was quickly approaching so this team focused at the task at hand, that was collecting body measurements as well as tissues from this carcass. Nick and Krill conducted a Level A exam on the carcass and Caitlyn took pictures as well as recorded data. Krill was able to determine that this animal was
Read more

Wareham Classrooms have 2 Headstart Diamondback Terrapins

-
Image
Wareham Classrooms have 2 Headstart Diamondback Terrapins Terrapin Crush prior to this turtle's release.  NECWA was able to work with 2 Wareham Teachers this fall and winter as they participated in our Diamondback Terrapin Headstart program. One teacher, Lara Schofield, works at the high school and has previously participated in NECWA's head start program. The other teacher, Tanya Bungert, a middle school teacher, was new to the program this season.  Over the course of the school year, NECWA staff joined teachers and their students on numerous occasions, providing on-site guidance for caring and documenting the hatchlings. On two occasions , NECWA came into the High School to work with and present lessons on terrapins to the afterschool program run by teacher Lara Schofield. Working directly with students and their teachers is so important for these types of community  projects for it allows NECWA to see how successful our head start programs are.   NECWA would like to thank th
Read more