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Welcome to NECWA
Greetings!
Welcome to the Fall Edition of the NECWA Newsletter. We hope that this newsletter will provide you with some interesting stories about what we are doing and as well as provide current news about marine life.
We hope that you enjoy the resources that we have listed here. If you have books or websites you would like to share - please send them along to us so we can include them in future issues!
Sincerely,
Carol "Krill" Carson and Kari Heistad
New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance
Quick Links:
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Beach Clean Up A Success 
On Saturday, October 29th, NECWA teamed up with Capt. John Boats and the Department of Conservation and Recreation to clean up Scusset Beach, located within the Scusset Beach State Reservation.
We had a great team of people who worked hard to remove over 110 pounds of trash from the beach.
This cleanup effort is part of COASTSWEEP, the Commonwealth's annual coastal cleanup program that is organized by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Urban Harbors Institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Last year, over 2,900 COASTSWEEP volunteers collected over 20,000 pounds of trash from beaches, marshes, rivers, ponds, and the seafloor.
Krill Carson explained NECWA's involvement by "We believe that it is important to help clean up the beach and so this is our annual effort to make a difference before the winter storms roll in. We don't want to see trash getting washed out into the bay for this would negatively impact coastal marine wildlife offshore"
Quick Links:
Captain John Boats, Plymouth MA
Scusset Beach State Reservation
Coastsweep
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Featured Animal - Ocean Sunfish
The Ocean Sunfish (scientific name, Mola mola) is the world's heaviest bony fish and in the fall, many of them strand on the shores of New England.  NECWA is leading the way in conducting research on ocean sunfish for little is known about these large but captivating creatures.
So far this fall, NECWA has rescued 2 live ocean sunfish who were in the process of stranding and performed 13 necropsies on carcasses that washed ashore, the majority on Cape Cod beaches. In 2010, NECWA again rescued 2 ocean sunfish and conducted 18 necropsies on beached carcasses.
When performing a necropsy, our first task is to photograph the carcass and then we collect a number of specific body measurements. If the carcass is not too decomposed, we open up the carcass to determine the sex of the individual. We also collect tissue and organ samples and preserve them for future research. And we collect a section of the vertebra for we are analyzing this material in an effort to determine the age of the animals.
Adult ocean sunfish can reach up to 14 feet long and can weigh up to 5,000 pounds. This fall, NECWA staff member Krill Carson and colleagues David Clapp and Sam McGee, worked together to create a portable weighing apparatus that can be used to determine the weight an ocean sunfish carcass that has stranded on a beach or in a marsh.
Most of the animals that strand in our area are between 6 to 7 feet in length. Therefore, we assume that these are young animals. Determining the body weight of the carcasses will be another piece in the puzzle about the age of this incredible marine fish.
To date, two carcasses have been weighed using this new apparatus. The first carcass washed ashore on First Encounter Beach in Eastham, MA and weighed in over 420 lbs. The second and larger carcass washed up on Monument Beach, Bourne weighing in at 650 lbs.
The sunfish are harmless to people and are often curious, coming over to boats and divers to investigate. Because whale watchers, recreational boaters and commercial fisherman often spot ocean sunfish offshore during late summer and early fall, NECWA started a community-sighting network for both ocean sunfish and basking sharks in 2005.
If anyone sees a live sunfish offshore, please go to our NEBShark website (www.nebshark.org) and log in your sighting. You can even download your digital photos to this website. If you see a dead ocean sunfish on a beach or in a marsh, please call Krill at 508-566-0009. If you see an ocean sunfish in the process of stranding, immediately call Krill for assistance.
For more information on the ocean sunfish, go to our NEBShark website or visit National Geographic by clicking HERE.
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Whale Skull Found on Beach
Whale skulls are being found in unusual places this year. In September, a 400 pound whale skull was found on a beach in Brewster, MA. Researchers estimate the skull to be more than 30 years old and believe it to be a right whale skull. DNA tests will be conducted to confirm this species identification and if it is a right whale skull, to determine if this is an ancestor of any current whale families in the bay. "This is not everyday kind of stuff for us," Kerry Branon of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said. "What is normal for us is responding to live and dead marine mammals. But digging up whale bones - this is a rare event." Click HERE to read the article in the Boston Globe. Click HERE to watch the CapeCast Video on YouTube from the Cape Cod Times. |
Disentanglement of Young Humpback Whale
A local fisherman helped to save a young whale that was entangled off from Chatham in September. Fishermen are often the ones who spot whales and other marine wildlife entangled in fishing line offshore. When spotted, they call a special hotline number so that specialists from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies can come and untangle the whale. To read about this rescue and view a photo of the entangled whale, click HERE. To report entanglements of whales and other marine wildlife in southern New England, call 1-800-900-3622.
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Kids Corner
Lemonade Stand Raises $30 for NECWA Emily and Evan Comeaux saw their first whales this past summer on a trip to New England from Texas. On the whale watch, they learned about the work that NECWA is doing to help whales and they decided to raise money for NECWA when they returned to Texas. They had a lemonade stand in September and raised $30 which they proudly sent to NECWA. "We appreciate all donations as they help us with our work" says NECWA's Executive Director Krill Carson. She continues "this donation is particularly special as Emily and Evan raised the money themselves and we really appreciate their help." Featured DVD: Salt and Friends This video has 58 minutes of video and it introduces viewers to 15 different whales, including the most famous humpback whale of them all - a whale named Salt. You can see a clip from the video, click HERE. If you adopt a whale through NECWA at the $49 level, you will receive a free copy of the DVD and you will also be supporting NECWA at the same time. Whale coloring pages: click HERE |
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Holiday Shopping to Support NECWA
SmugMug
The holidays are fast approaching and with them the desire to find just the right present for the special people in your life. Know someone who loves whales? Cruise on over to SmugMug and 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 this holiday season. 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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Naturalist Profile - Tammy Silva I grew up spending summer weekends at the beach with my family, which led to my love of the ocean and all its inhabitants. Throughout high school I developed a love for science and in 2004 I entered Stonehill College where I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. After graduating from Stonehill in 2008, I began a graduate program studying Molecular/Developmental biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. As I neared the completion of my Master's degree and was searching for jobs I came across NECWA. I emailed Carol "Krill" Carson hoping for a job but was offered an unpaid internship working aboard whale watching boats. I immediately snatched up this amazing opportunity; I had developed a strong interest in marine mammals and wanted experience working with them. I started volunteering with NECWA in April 2010 and in addition to volunteering, was lucky enough to earn a position as a naturalist in July 2010. I love working on the Captain John Boats out of Plymouth harbor. It is an amazing experience to watch whales almost every day. I'm really fascinated by humpback whale behavior, especially social behavior, which is something we try to document in our data, but just being in the presence of these massive and majestic animals is incredible. NECWA has provided me with amazing opportunities and valuable experiences. Other than working aboard the boats, my favorite experience with NECWA has been working on our Ocean Sunfish project. Each fall NECWA responds to Ocean sunfish strandings on Cape Cod beaches. In the fall of 2010, I participated in several necropsies of Ocean sunfish and Krill and I presented the data at the Cape Cod Natural History Conference in March 2011. NECWA is currently trying to determine the age and maturity of stranded Ocean sunfish; two very exciting and important topics that scientists know almost nothing about! Next fall I hope to enroll in a PhD program studying the Molecular biology and Ecology of baleen whales. I eventually hope to work as a scientist at an institution or university studying whales. NECWA has been integral to my present and future success; it was NECWA that first truly exposed me to the challenging world of field research. Along the way, I've also made some lifelong friends. The opportunities and experiences I've had with NECWA and Krill have made it possible to pursue my dreams and I will always be grateful for that. |
Rare Blue Whale Sightings
While it is rare to see the blue whale in New England's coastal waters, a few were sighted by whale watching vessels. One was seen off the Maine coast near Acadia National park and a second was seen off the MA shore near Gloucester. In addition to the blue whale, sperm whales were also seen off the coast of Maine, another rare sight. Typically sperm whales prefer deeper water and do not come close enough to shore to be seen by whale watchers.
Quick Links:
Blue whale off coast of Maine
Blue whale off Cape Cod
Sperm whale article:
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Help Fight Whaling in Iceland
Since 2006 Iceland has killed hundreds of whales including
208 endangered fin whales. NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council) is conducting an awareness campaign to put pressure on President Obama to speak out about this issue.
Read more about this important campaign and access the petition by clicking HERE.
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 NECWA Featured in Cape Cod Times NECWA's research on ocean sunfish was highlighted in the Cape Cod Times. Click HERE to read all about it and to view a video on this exciting work. HOT OFF THE PRESS! Due to this article and a similar article printed in the Banner, NECWA has been contacted by researchers in Europe asking if we were interested in collaborating with them on their ocean sunfish projects in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Japan, and other parts of the world. How cool is that! And what does that tell you about the power of the printed word! |
| Featured Book
Listening to Whales:
What the orcas have to teach us
by Alexandra Morton.
This book chronicles Alexandra's stories from her career in dolphin and whale research where she has been listening to their calls for decades. This book takes you into the depth of marine research and one woman's quest to better understand those who live beneath the waves.
Featured Website:
Census of Marine Wildlife
This is a global marine wildlife database that is useful for sciencentis, policy managers and the general public. This site is the product of a 10-year international effort to assess the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine wildlife worldwide.
To learn more, click HERE:
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Calling All Year End Donations
We Need Your Help!
As you are making 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.
Donation Needs:
$10: 2 video tapes for video-taping whales
$75: Necropsy Kit (sample bag, preservative, tubes, knives and labels for samples)
$150: GPS Unit to help with scientific data collection
$200: Binoculars for spotting marine wildlife offshore or stranded
$300: Wet suit, liner, gloves and booties for rescue work for 1 researcher
We are also looking for the donation of a 13 foot Boston Whaler and trailer to help us with our research and rescue work. Please contact Krill directly at 508-566-0009 or krillcarson@mac.com if you can help us out.
To donate, please visit our JustGive site by clicking HERE.
Or, mail your tax deductible donation to: NECWA, 11 Clarence Soule Dr Middleboro, MA 02346
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| Massachusetts Lobstermen Part of Coalition to help save whales
The Mass. Lobstermen's Association and Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries have partnered with whale watch companies, wildlife organizations, local restaurants, seafood distributors, etc. to bring you the Massachusetts Lobster labeling and promotion program.
Massachusetts is the first and only state to require year-round use of sinking groundline in all state waters. Because of this, the coalition wants consumer to support the purchase of MA lobsters instead of those caught in other New England states. To date, MA lobstermen have removed 3,000 miles of floating rope from the water column since switching to sinking groundline to reduce the risk of entanglements.
To go to this projects home page, click HERE.
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