In early 2024, we’ll be going through all our data, tabulating results from beach cleanups, microplastics sampling, and whale surveys. Even without seeing all the totals yet, we know it was one of our busiest years ever. I wanted to start with a huge THANK YOU to our volunteers, interns, board members, donors, and followers. They enabled us to reach more people than ever and take concrete steps to protect marine life.
Here are some of our 2023 accomplishments:
- In 2023, we continued our long-term whale research. Using a unique software program called Mysticetus, we collected data on 155 trips this year. This included 5 whale scouting trips. During these dedicated all-day trips, we spotted 22 whales that weren’t seen on our regular whale watches. Through the season, we identified 90 individual humpback whales. Mysticetus allows us to collect data quickly and process it more easily. Thus, we can share our sightings with other researchers around the Gulf of Maine and inform management actions to protect these magnificent animals.
- We taught 10,455 whale watch passengers about the ocean and how to protect it. We also hosted five amazing student interns to assist with research and education.
- We worked with volunteers to conduct more than 300 beach cleanups and removed more than 150,000 pieces of litter from local beaches!
- A new app allows boaters and fishermen to report whale sightings, giving us more data on whales and their habits. We look forward to expanding this program in 2024 and helping boaters form deeper connections with the individual whales we all love.
- We secured one of our largest marine debris grants to date and look forward to using the funds to clean up derelict fishing gear in the region over the coming 3 years. We also continued our successful partnership with Howell Conservation Fund to study microplastics and started working with Shaw Institute to find the source of these tiny pollutants.
- We hosted over 10,000 visitors at our Blue Ocean Discovery Center, and our inflatable whale visited hundreds of students. We are working on an exciting redesign of our educational programs for 2024!
- We’ve closely followed news and actions related to climate change and developments such as offshore wind and commented on actions when appropriate. Our data helps us document important whale habitats and will assist in monitoring whale populations as new developments occur.
Looking Back at 2023 Through Images
Here are some of our favorite images from 2023!
