Since 2016, the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), in collaboration with Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay and as permitted through the State, have been studying and conserving Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in the marshes of Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett and Pocasset, Massachusetts.
Since 2006 NECWA has been tracking reports of live ocean sunfish in the waters of New England. In 2008 we started responding to calls about stranded (dead) molas on the beaches of Cape Cod. Soon, these efforts to study the dead animals were followed by attempts to rescue live fish before they stranded and died. NECWA has found that the configuration of Wellfleet Harbor creates a trap that juvenile ocean sunfish have trouble getting out of... and our main efforts now are to find better ways to escort or tow these giant, gentle fish out of this trap in hopes that they can find their way around the arm of the Cape.
“Every Animal Counts” is our NECWA motto. We respond to any distressed and stranded marine wildlife on our beaches. But we specialize in marine wildlife that are not taken care of by other organizations in the area. These marine “misfits” include basking sharks, torpedo rays, ocean sunfish, and trigger fish. We run a telephone hotline for anyone to report distressed animals and we have sighting report forms on our website.
