Ocean Sunfish Necropsy on October 25, 2009 - Sandwich Beach, MA
NECWA staff, interns and friends returned to Sandwich Beach to find the ocean sunfish that had stranded on the beach just the other day. When any marine animal strands and then washes onto a beach, it is a very sad event and one that we try to prevent whenever possible. In fact, NECWA had responded to this same ocean sunfish the other day when it was still alive but was in danger of stranding on this beach. Although we were not successful in saving this fish, the carcass can still provide valuable information to us so in an sense, their death is not a waste. So starting around 10 am, Krill, Nick Schromburg and Cory Heston began a 5 hour long process of conducting an external and internal examine of this animal. They were assisted by other NECWA staff members and friends including Belinda Rubinstein and Rick. Many people walking the beach were very curious as to what was going on, and this also provided an opportunity for NECWA to educate and involve many members of the general public,...