Massachusetts
A Vulnerable Coastal Environment
The actual distance from north to south along the Massachusetts coast line is just 110 miles as the bird flies.
But if you ever tried to walk along the water from Cape Cod to the North Shore, you would cover nearly 1,500 miles of twisting, turning shoreline.
Salmon, shad and sturgeon swim through the state’s rivers to reach the salty ocean, where deeper waters serve as the breeding and feeding grounds for vast schools of haddock and cod.
Migrating humpback whales, sea turtles and native harbor seals also feed in these rich coastal waters, where oyster reefs, seagrass beds, salt marshes and estuaries offer habitat to myriad native marine species.
But if you ever tried to walk along the water from Cape Cod to the North Shore, you would cover nearly 1,500 miles of twisting, turning shoreline.
Salmon, shad and sturgeon swim through the state’s rivers to reach the salty ocean, where deeper waters serve as the breeding and feeding grounds for vast schools of haddock and cod.
Migrating humpback whales, sea turtles and native harbor seals also feed in these rich coastal waters, where oyster reefs, seagrass beds, salt marshes and estuaries offer habitat to myriad native marine species.
Photo Credit: NOAA
Right Whale
The right whale gets its name from early whalers who considered this species the "right" whale to hunt. Right whales tend to swim slowly and close to the surface, and their abundant blubber kept them afloat after being killed, making them easy prey for hunters. Right whales travel in the summer to the waters off the coast of New England, particularly in Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay, to nurse and feed, after calving in coastal waters off the southeastern United States. These filter feeders eat great amounts of crustaceans and plankton and can grow to 50 feet long, weigh up to 120,000 pounds, and live up to 100 years. Although the Right whale was named Massachusetts’s state marine mammal in 1980, there are fewer than 450 of this endangered species left today. |
Happy Harbor Seal. Credit: Pond5
Harbor Seals Harbor seals are relatively small, 5 feet long, with brown or grey fur and are common in Massachusetts. They are often found in coastal areas, hauled out on land, either by themselves or in a group, to rest. It is thought that females from Massachusetts migrate to quiet islands in New Hampshire and southern Maine to pup, usually give birth in late spring and early summer. Pups are able to swim within minutes after birth and can travel with the female while she hunts. The Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, passed in 1972, made it illegal to hunt, feed, disturb, or otherwise harass seals or any marine mammal! Happily, the local population of arbor seals has increased dramatically over the last decade. |