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Welcome to NECWA
Greetings!
Welcome to the Fall/Winter 2012 edition of the NECWA e-newsletter.
It was a busy whale watching season aboard Capt. John Boats. We saw hundreds of humpback whales, many that we recognize and that are old friends. We also had great sightings of sea turtles, ocean sunfish and basking sharks. We had amazing sightings during our spring and fall Seabird & Whale Tales excursions that help support our many projects and activities. Thanks to all for your continued interest and support of these all day marine wildlife excursions.
This fall and early winter we have again been called upon to help stranded ocean sunfish and sea turtles on Cape Cod beaches and to perform necropsies on those that unfortunately we could not save.
As we close out this year, we give thanks for everyone who has supported us this year and wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season. A big thank you to all who have helped with the rescues of live marine wildlife and the necropsies of dead animals. We could not have the success that we have had over the years without your help.
Sincerely,
Carol "Krill" Carson and Kari Heistad
New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance
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How Fishing Gear Is Impacting Whales
Researchers have been documenting the deadly threat that fishing lines and ropes pose to large whales that become entangled in them. Now a new study is pointing to another disturbing fact: the ensnared whales endure enormous pain and prolonged suffering. To read the entire article from Environment 360, please click below.
Quick Links:
Environment 360
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The Plight of the Ocean Sunfish
The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is the heaviest bony fish in the world. This unusual looking fish migrates to our cold New England waters to feed on jellyfish, ctenophores and other gelatinous critters.
Adult ocean sunfish can reach lengths of up to 10 feet and weigh close to 2 tons. Although a monster in size, this fish is very gentle and quite curious around divers and boats.
Ocean sunfish are found in all oceans of the world, but prefer tropical and temperate coastal waters. Although this fish has a truncated tail or caudal fin, it can breach out of the water and dive to great depths.
 | | NECWA and MA Audubon Team |
Each fall and early winter, young ocean sunfish strand along the shores of Cape Cod, primarily the shores that border Cape Cod Bay. Some fish also strand in the shallow bays and coves of Buzzards Bay. These fish are trying to migrate south for the winter, but become trapped by the physical presence of land.
 | | Portable weighing tripod |
These areas can be treacherous for ocean sunfish especially if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. If they move into shallow water as the tide is going out, ocean sunfish can find themselves high and dry on a sand or mud flat and eventually die. Even those individuals that avoid shallow waters will eventually strand along our shorelines as winter approaches. Like sea turtles, these gentle giants become cold-stunned as water temperatures continue to drop below 50 degrees F.
This season, NECWA staff and volunteers have been busier than ever rescuing live ocean sunfish and necropsying dead animals. To date, we have worked to save 5 live sunfish and necropsied 23 carcasses.
NECWA would like to thank everyone for their help in reporting ocean sunfish in our waters. Thanks to all who helped with live rescue attempts and those that helped with examinations of dead animals. A special thank you to the staff of the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for all their help on Cape Cod.
For more information on the ocean sunfish, go to our NEBShark website or our NECWA News Blog.
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NECWA Purchases Boat for Rescue Work
Each fall, NECWA responds to strandings of ocean sunfish and other marine wildlife. However, we are often hampered by not having our own boat. That problem has now been resolved as NECWA was able to purchase a boat from Josh Ryder.
Josh was very generous in providing NECWA with a reasonable price for his 13' Dell Quay. Josh learned about our recent rescue attempt with the ocean sunfish in Little Buttermilk Bay this fall and wanted to help support our work. We are excited to have our own boat and will be using it to tow live ocean sunfish into deeper and safer waters.
Also a big thank you to Captain Ronnie and Captain Russ for volunteering their time to create a floating sling for towing live ocean sunfish. Both captains work for Captain John Boats out of Plymouth and this company is a big supporter of NECWA. This towable platform was created by cutting old life rafts to use as floats in a sling-like structure. Next season, NECWA will use the Dell Quay and the towable sling to tow live ocean sunfish into deeper waters or out of back bay areas. |
Awesome Grant Helps Purchase Boat and Build Ocean Sunfish Sling
The Boston Chapter of the Awesome Foundation, in order to further the cause of Awesome, gave NECWA a $1,000 grant to fund our project to build a towable sling to rescue cold-stunned ocean sunfish in Cape Cod Bay and surrounding waters. This grant was used to purchase a 13' boat as well as to make a towable sling structure for relocating live ocean sunfish. Thank you Awesome Foundation for supporting our rescue work! |
Thank You to the Families of Mary Sue McKenna and Jacqueline Wilbur for your support!
NECWA received two generous donations this year from the families of Mary Sue McKenna and Jackie Wilbur. Mary Sue's donation was on behalf of her daughter Katherine who interned with NECWA this summer. Mary Sue indicated that Katherine enjoyed the internship program for it was filled with incredible opportunities in the field of marine science. Jacqueline and her family went on a whale watch out of Plymouth MA aboard Capt. John Boats with Krill as their naturalist. They were inspired by the whale sightings during the trip and wanted to support NECWA on behalf of all marine wildlife. Thank you Mary Sue and Jacqueline and all who supported NECWA this season. All donations, big and small, support our mission to better connect people with the coastal marine wildlife off our shores. |
| 2012 Seabird & Whales Tales Excursions
Both of our trips this year provided unique experiences for our passengers.
June Trip: The June trip provided glorious summer weather and those on the boat had ample time to enjoy it as the whales had moved off Chatham.
But the trip was worth the wait as the NECWA team estimated that we saw at least 80 humpback whales that were surface feeding, many in small groups. To date, we have identified 37 individual humpback whales through photo-identification techniques. We also saw hundreds of seabirds, many of them feeding right alongside the whales. Here is the sighting list from that trip.
Seabirds:
Sooty Shearwater - 3000
Great Shearwater - 35
Manx Shearwater - 4
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 30
Pomarine Jaeger - 2
Parasitic Jaeger - 2
Northern Gannet - 40
Laughing Gull - 40
Herring Gull - 200
Great Black-backed Gull - 40
Common Tern - 65
Common Loon - 8
Double-crested Cormorant - 20
Razorbill - 2
Whales:
humpback whales - 80
minke whales - 4
dolphins - small pod, unidentified species
For pictures from the trip and to purchase prints and other gifts, please visit the photo gallery on the NECWA SmugMug account by clicking on this.
September Trip: Our fall trip provided a contrast in weather and fewer whales, but we had 4 sightings of Ocean Sunfish which thrilled everyone onboard. We were also treated to humpbacks feeding, as well as a curious calf that surfaced very close to the boat to check us out. And we had a very energtic group of common dolphins that jumped and cavorted all around the boat!
David Clapp will once again be preparing the sighting report for this trip and will will post this report as soon as it comes in.
We hope you can join us for our 2012 Seabird & Whale Tales Excursions on:
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
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Adventures of a NECWA Intern: Ashley Bae
NECWA intern Ashely Bae participated in an Arctic expedition through Students on Ice, an organization that offers educational expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. Through this group, Ashley explored the eastern Canadian Arctic and western Greenland.
Ashley noted: "I had the most wonderful experience up North. We went hiking almost every day and saw spectacular wildlife from polar bears to bowheads to seals to murres to many species of lichens. Although I initially joined the expedition for the science, I was amazed by the resilient Inuit people and their culture as well. In fact, 30 of the 75 students onboard the expedition were Inuit and one girl came from Grisefjord, the Northernmost community in the world.
I loved meeting the Inuit students and embracing their culture-- we got a chance to listen to many of their stories, to play their traditional games, and to meet the elders of some of their communities. I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to visit the Arctic (Baffin Island & Greenland); to see the glaciers calving and retreating right before my eyes was a dream come true, and I now see more than ever why protecting the poles means protecting the planet."
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Shopping to Support NECWA
SmugMug
Looking for gift ideas for family and friends this holiday season? Cruise on over to SmugMug where you can purchase prints, mugs and other gifts while helping NECWA.
Listing SmugMug on your wishlist might also point the way for someone in your life to give you the perfect whale of a present. Click HERE to view the available photographs.
Marine Wildlife Adoption
Need a beautiful, educational and personalized gift for kids of all ages? Then check out our Marine Wildlife Adoption program that allows you to adopt one of 10 unique coastal marine animals that are seen off our Cape Cod shores.
To learn more, go to the adoption page on the NECWA website by clicking HERE.
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NOAA Turns 40
For 40 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary System has preserved and protected some of the most spectacular and treasured resources in the world's oceans. The system, consisting of more than 150,000 sq. miles of America's oceans, includes beautiful coral reefs, lush kelp forests, whale feeding and calving areas and underwater archaeological sites.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act also turns 40 this year. This legislation protects all marine mammals in US waters. To learn more, click HERE.
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Beluga Mimics Human Speech
SAN DIEGO (AP) It could be the muffled sound of singing in the shower or that sing-songy indecipherable voice from the Muppets' Swedish Chef. Surprisingly, scientists said the audio they captured was a whale imitating people. In fact, the whale song sounded so eerily human that divers initially thought it was a human voice.
Quick Link: AP story
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Whale Alert APP
Helps Right Whales in Shipping Lanes
This spring, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and its partners introduced an innovative Apple iPad/iPhone app. This app alerts ship operators traveling in Boston's shipping channels to the presence of highly endangered North Atlantic right whales. In addition to habitat destruction, marine pollution, entanglements and increasing underwater noise, one of the most chronic and deadly threats these gentle creatures face is collisions with large commercial vessels that are moving in and out of Boston Harbor. Whale Alert was created by a coalition of industry, government and academia all working to save North Atlantic right whales, the most endangered baleen whale in our New England waters.
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| Featured Books
Entanglements
The Intertwined Fates of Whales and Fishermen
This book looks at the clash between fishermen and their families trying to make a living and whale advocates who are seeking to save the endangered right whale.
Davy's Dream
A Young Boy's Adventure with Wild Orca Whales
This largely picture book follows Davy as he dreams about playing with the whales.
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Rare White Humpback Sighting
In an exceedingly rare sighting of a while humpback whale was made off the coast of Norway. For video footage of this sighting, click HERE.
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Year End Donations
We Need Your Help!
As you make your year-end donations, please consider sending a donation to NECWA. Every donation makes a difference as we work hard to keep our education, research and conservation programs as vital and comprehensive as possible.
NECWA is run completely by volunteers, so all of your donation goes directly to the important work that we do on behalf of coastal marine wildlife.
General Donations are greatly appreciated, or you can donate to a specific need or cause.
DONATIONS NEEDED:
$10: 2 DVD video tapes for video-taping marine wildlife.
$75: Necropsy Kit including tool box, tissue preservative, collection tubes, knives, metric tape measures, labels, etc.
$150: GPS Unit for scientific data collection.
$200: 7 X 50 Marine Binoculars for spotting marine wildlife offshore or stranded on beach.
$300: Wet suit, liner, gloves and booties for rescue work for 1 researcher.
$600: Kayak with paddle for rescue activities.
$800: Dry suit for 1 researcher to help assist with strandings and relocation activities.
To donate, please visit our JustGive site by clicking HERE.
Or mail your tax deductible donation to: NECWA, 11 Clarence Soule Drive, Middleboro, MA 02346.
Thank you for your consideration!
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