Stranding Report 2008
Harp Seal - Phoca groenlandica
Ellisville Harbor State Park, Plymouth, MA, January 7, 2008
On January 6, 2008, the New England Aquarium Stranding Program received a call about a harp seal - Phoca groenlandica, that had come up onto the beach at Ellisville Harbor
State Park in Plymouth, MA and had died. Apparently this person had seen the animal earlier that day and the day before alive. From the size of the animal and the pattern of its fur coat, this appeared to be a juvenile harp seal that was 2 years old. This animal was less than 3.5 feet in length and had a beautiful gray coat with dark spots scattered over its body.
Seals are semi-aquatic and must spend part of 
everyday out of the water resting on beaches or rocky outcroppings. The harp seal from the Canadian Arctic visits the Northeast Coast of the United States from December – May each year. Most of the visitors are young animals, but some adults are also seen each year. The harp seal will often remain on area beaches for several days at a time without going into the water, in Canada they will haul out on ice flows for many days. In Canada they are not used to humans, so when they are down here they will also let people get very close to them without trying to get away. This can be very dangerous to beach goers 
who will often try to touch the animals. Seals and other marine mammals can be very aggressive and can carry diseases. It is never a good idea to touch a live or dead marine mammal.
The next day, January 7, a team of researchers, students and volunteers retrieved the seal carcass from Ellisville Harbor and transported it to the WHOI necropsy lab. Team leader and head researcher, Belinda Rubenstein, a Pinniped Biologist, took charge of the necropsy and was assisted by Brett Hayward, a NMFS Biological Technician, Christina Petrovits (BSC undergraduate), Carol “Krill” Carson and Ann Cook, both NECWA staff. 
Information obtained from this necropsy will be used to learn more about the health, life history and ecology of the harp seal. Future results from tissue analysis will be used to determine the animal’s cause of death. Belinda also followed a special protocol to collect tissues for NIST (The National Institute of Standards and Technology) who maintain a tissue databank of marine wildlife. The initial necropsy findings did not point to a specific cause of death at this time. Additional tissue samples were collected for submission to a diagnostic laboratory to determine the cause of death.
As Belinda and her team were finishing the harp seal necropsy, a dead leatherback sea
turtle - Dermochelys coriacea, was brought to the Laboratory for storage in their walk-in freezer. Scientists at WHOI and the University of New Hampshire were to examine this carcass on January 8th, to determine the cause of death and to learn more about this amazing ocean wanderer.
This leatherback sea turtle was dead when it washed ashore on a beach on Martha’s Vineyard. The carcass was transported to the laboratory by New England Aquarium Stranding Network Volunteers and the National Marine Life Center.
Leatherback sea turtles are the largest of the sea turtles and a common visitor to our cold, yet productive, waters off New England. Each summer and fall, this large reptile migrates into our coastal waters to feed on soft-bodied prey including jellyfish and salps. Adult leatherbacks can tolerate a wide range of water temperatures due to their immense size, their high oil content and their counter-current heat exchange. This species of sea turtle can be found along the entire continental coast of the United States as far north as the Gulf of Maine and south to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Ocean Sunfish - Mola mola
Crosby Landing, Brewster, MA, January 1, 2008
On Saturday, December 29th, NEBShark received a call from Jane LaRocque at the Cape Cod Stranding Network about a dead ocean sunfish that washed ashore at Linnell Landing
in Brewster, MA. Jane sent NEBShark a GPS position and took photographs of the carcass that was below the high tide line. Before leaving the beach, Jane dragged the carcass towards the high tide line to reduce the chances that the carcass would re-float before NEBShark could locate the animal for further inspection.
On Sunday, December 30th, NEBShark staff and their family members headed down to Linnell Landing to relocate the sunfish in order to collect specific measurements of the carcass and take additional photographs. As feared, the carcass was no longer where Jane had left it the day before. After a few hours of searching, NEBShark staff members were not able to relocate the carcass, but they did find two dead seabirds that had washed above the high tide line.
The dead seabirds were identified as an adult Northern Gannet and an adult Common Eider. Both seabirds are common visitors to the waters off Brewster and Cape Cod. Both seabirds are common visitors to the waters off Brewster and Cape Cod. Information on the location of these birds was provided to Mass. Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary located in Wellfleet (office number: 508-349-2615). Wellfleet Bay is collaborating with Tufts University on Project SEANet (Seabird Ecological Assessment Network), a community project
that asks public volunteers to report dead gulls, loons, ducks and other seabirds in order to investigate causes of mortality in marine bird populations.
Carcasses provided to Tufts University are examined to determine health and reproductive conditions as well as cause of death. Internal structures are examined for the presence of foreign objects, toxins and bacterial infections. This information can be
used to better understand, and therefore protect, wild seabird populations in the Gulf of Maine. To learn more about SEANet and how you can become involved, go to the SEANet website.
On January 1, 2007, New Years Day, NEBShark staff and volunteers once again headed down to Brewster to try and relocate the dead ocean sunfish. Assistance from concerned beachgoers like Laura and her companions helped to locate the carcass in a tide pool just east of Crosby Landing. NEBShark staff and volunteers, including Peter Whitfield and his dog Max, were now able to conduct a thorough external examination of the dead ocean sunfish that measured just over 4 feet in length. The information collected will help scientists better understand the distribution and population size of the ocean sunfish, the heaviest bony fish that migrates to New England waters to feed on jellyfish, ctenophores and other gelatinous critters.
It was only through the help of staff members and public volunteers, like Laura, Pete and Maya, that NEBShark was able to conduct an external exam on this animal. Support and involvement by interested members of the general public are what make NEBShark a success within the New England community. Through their efforts, important sighting information is available to scientists and managers to help them better understand and protect these living ocean treasures.
