2024 Highlights from the Aquarium
By New England Aquarium on Thursday, January 30, 2025
Welcoming new animals into our care, unveiling engaging new exhibits that inspire visitors, conducting impactful research, and advocating for the ocean locally and nationally are just a few of the ways the New England Aquarium continued to protect the blue planet in 2024. Learn more about our work, and hear from some Aquarium and Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life staff members about their top moments from last year!
Studying and Protecting
Four new endangered African penguin chicks hatched
In 2024, the Aquarium welcomed four new African penguin chicks. The chicks—named Bunker, Althea, Oyster, and Fitzpatrick—hatched in early spring and joined the rest of the penguin colony after months of growing and learning new skills with our staff behind the scenes.
The chicks’ arrival is in coordination with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) African Penguin Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program that supports field conservation efforts as well as responsible breeding to promote a sustainable future for these endangered penguins.
Visitors can spot the quartet, identifiable by their juvenile grey feathers, swimming and socializing with the other birds in our colony.
I’m proud of the advancements we’ve made in training and enrichment and proud of how much we accomplish for the birds in terms of their health care. We have a lot of penguins with geriatric conditions who need specialized treatment!
Researchers deployed new technology for studying right whales
In August, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life scientists completed another season of right whale fieldwork in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Throughout the months of June, July, and August, the team conducted boat-based research in collaboration with the Canadian Whale Institute, during which they sighted 62 individual right whales and collected 23 blow samples and three fecal samples. They also removed 19 sets of lost, abandoned, or discarded fishing gear—an essential part of preventing future entanglements.
During fieldwork in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as well as in Cape Cod Bay, our scientists deployed the latest drone technology to study right whales. The drone offers a non-invasive method to gather samples of blow and is used for photogrammetry—measurements of right whales that help researchers better understand their health. Understandings gained through this work will allow the team to effectively collaborate with fishers, policymakers, and other marine industry experts to reduce the risk of entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes—important steps in protecting the species and allowing the population to rebound.
As part of our right whale fieldwork in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in July, we debuted our full drone fleet for our own research purposes. Not only was this very successful but we learned so much about the intricacies of flying drones off a larger vessel and how we collect samples and footage. The knowledge we gained will help propel our drone research forward in 2025.
Our Rescue and Research teams supported sea turtle health
The 2023–2024 cold-stun season saw 394 sea turtles arriving at the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital for triage and treatment. Throughout the summer, the Aquarium’s Rescue and Rehabilitation department conducted local releases of sea turtles that were cared for at the hospital. In total, 31 sea turtles were released back into the ocean off the coast of Cape Cod, including 25 critically endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles. Several of the sea turtles were equipped with satellite tags, which will allow Anderson Cabot Center and Aquarium staff to monitor their migration progress in the coming months.
Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey joined the New England Aquarium and Mass Audubon to release five endangered and threatened sea turtles in ocean waters off Cape Cod in support of the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, which would help provide federal funding for institutions across the country to continue sea turtle conservation efforts.
It was a busy cold-stunning season at the Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, with hundreds of live admits consistently arriving over the course of nine weeks. Our team managed care for all of them and helped get them transported to other facilities to continue their rehabilitation.
Community partnerships helped expand leatherback conservation in Puerto Rico
Leatherback turtle nesting populations in the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator are undergoing widespread declines at a rate of four percent per year. To help this endangered species, Dr. Kara Dodge from our Anderson Cabot Center has been working in partnership with community-led sea turtle conservation groups in Puerto Rico, deploying satellite tags to collect data on female leatherback nesting behaviors and migration patterns.
Scientists studied sharks to inform protections near and far
Scientists from our Anderson Cabot Center worked to study and protect many different species of sharks in numerous locations throughout the year, including tracking sand tiger sharks in waters around Boston Harbor, tagging sandbar sharks off Nantucket, and partnering with local fishers to study bull sharks along the Florida coast.
Scientists with the Anderson Cabot Center have been studying nurse shark courtship and mating behavior in the Dry Tortugas for decades. In recent years, Aquarium researchers and husbandry experts have also been in attendance, providing expertise and collaboration. This year, our researchers were able to tag 17 nurse sharks, and at least 28 known sharks were identified from previous tags. Among the tagged sharks were several new juvenile nurse sharks.
In 2024, the Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies team spent more than 120 days in the field and racked up 4,860 vessel hours in locations ranging from Cape Cod Bay to North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico to Puerto Rico. We deployed 258 tags on 18 species of sharks, fishes, and sea turtles. Our team also proudly published 8 papers and presented research findings in 14 talks at 7 different scientific meetings.
We worked to understand and monitor the health of many different wild species
At the Wildlife and Ocean Health (WOH) lab in the Anderson Cabot Center, our scientists study the many different biological samples collected by our researchers in the field—from whale blow and poop to blubber, baleen, and more. By studying the hormones extracted from these samples, our researchers can better understand the effects of human activities in the ocean on marine species—and help implement protections for them. Working with right whale baleen alone resulted in nearly 2,300 hormone data points from six individual whales!
2024 was a BIG year for the WOH team! Right whale baleen was definitely a priority. Liz, Nadine and Danielle presented at the Society of Marine Mammalogy conference in Australia, sharing cutting edge work on drone-collected fin whale blow, beaked whale blow, and right whale baleen. Charlie continues to push sea turtle science forward, publishing five manuscripts in 2024 with several more in progress and/or under review.
Advising and Partnering
Aerial survey flights highlighted marine abundance
Throughout the year, the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life aerial survey team conducted surveys over Northeast waters, from off Long Island to the Gulf of Maine.
Early in 2024, the team’s sighting of 31 right whales in shipping lanes east of Nantucket triggered a Dynamic Management Area (DMA), with NOAA issuing an advisory for boaters to voluntarily slow to 10 knots or less. In a later flight, the team spotted 82 individual North Atlantic right whales—including 22 in one day—over Hudson and Block Canyon, highly trafficked shipping areas and unusual feeding grounds for the critically endangered species. This is the first time scientists spotted a large number of North Atlantic right whales in this active shipping area, which is about 40 to 70 miles off Long Island, raising concerns about the risk of vessel strikes to these whales.
The aerial survey team also conducted several flights over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, sighting many marine mammals including sperm whales, fin whales, and basking sharks. The Monument celebrated its eighth anniversary of being designated the first marine national monument in the Atlantic on September 15. The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life’s research has contributed to protections associated with the Monument and continues to highlight the biodiversity of the area and the Monument’s environmental significance.
In 2024, the aerial survey team is proud of flying 600 hours, and identifying over 140 unique right whales. We also added two new team members! We photographed humpback bubble feeding, right whale social groups, sleeping sperm whales, thousands of dolphins, and even a rare gray whale.
Gift shop reduced plastic use
As part of the Aquarium’s commitment to protecting the blue planet, our gift shop replaced all pure plastic products with those that are plastic-free, biodegradable, or constructed from recycled plastic.
The effort, part of our gift shop partner Event Network’s Plastic S.T.O.P.S. Initiative, began with the removal of plastic pellets from the assortment of plush animals. As plastic items were phased out at the Aquarium gift shop, replacement options were ordered. By January 2024, the gift shop completed the initial plastic purge.
BalanceBlue Lab supported innovative ocean technology
BalanceBlue Lab is a science and innovation hub that utilizes cutting-edge research and market-based solutions to support responsible ocean use and promote a blue economy that protects our ocean. In 2024, researchers in the BalanceBlue Lab continued their work to ensure that seafood fed to both our guests and animals is responsibly sourced, advise ocean industry partners on environmentally responsible aquaculture, expand the amount of angel investment in blue technology startups that benefit the environment and create new, inclusive jobs, and work with fisherman to reduce entanglement risk to whales and other species.
BlueSwell—a partnership between the New England Aquarium and SeaAhead focused on supporting early-stage entrepreneurship in blue technology—gathered the members of its fourth cohort of companies for Demo Day in April to share their accomplishments after completing the 20-week incubator program. BlueSwell also welcomed seven companies to participate in the fifth cohort in September—the “largest and most exciting” cohort of startups yet—spanning a variety of impact areas, such as marine debris and pollution, climate change and coastal resilience, and renewable energy.
Farming and ocean harvesting seaweed is a vast and global industry. We’ve been collaborating with industry partners since 2015 and in 2024, we had the opportunity to travel all over the world and influence firsthand how these seaweeds are produced, meeting with farmers, beach collectors, and harvesters. This unique perspective continues to help inform our collaborative work with major seaweed buyers and drive more responsible sourcing practices into this massive, yet rarely observed ocean industry.
We affirmed our commitment to a sustainable ocean economy
In April, a delegation from the Aquarium attended the ninth Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Greece, which brings together governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and nonprofits that share a common vision for protecting the ocean. There, the New England Aquarium submitted a commitment to helping develop a sustainable and equitable ocean economy in Boston and beyond. To fulfill this commitment over the next two years, the Aquarium will focus on serving as a convenor, host, and/or contributor to knowledge exchanges; advising on, influencing, and adopting values that center on the work of local conservation leaders; and modeling and advocating for equitable approaches to the representation and recognition of local conservationists in the media.
Educating and Inspiring
Our new “Healthy Corals, Healthy Reefs” exhibit opened
The Aquarium’s newest exhibit, “Healthy Corals, Healthy Reefs,” opened in late fall. The 15-foot, nearly 5,000-gallon exhibit is home to a variety of live corals native to the Indo-Pacific region and features species new to the Aquarium, such as wrasses, surgeonfish, butterflyfish, and reef-dwelling invertebrates. Three smaller tanks offer a closer look at elements of the coral reef ecosystem. The live corals will grow over time, creating an evolving habitat that visitors can return to again and again and see how corals create the foundation for thriving marine ecosystems.
We developed content for the new Healthy Corals, Healthy Reefs exhibit, as well as the Ancient Fishes and African Rivers exhibits. We also opened Exploration Station, an education space with independent and facilitated learning opportunities. Our educators look forward to another great year of guest engagement!
We engaged visitors for sea turtle protections
During Massachusetts’ February School Vacation Week, members of the Aquarium’s Conservation Learning and Conservation Policy teams created a civic engagement opportunity for Aquarium visitors of all ages in support of the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act. During the week, staff collected 1,740 signatures to share with Congressional legislators in support of the bill. The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act would establish a federal grant program to support organizations that rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles across the US, including our Sea Turtle Hospital.
Lowell Lecture Series brought conservationists, archaeologists, and more to the Simons Theatre
The New England Aquarium’s Lowell Lecture Series saw an exciting array of speakers at the Simons Theatre, including Jay Haigler, archaeologist and founding board member of Diving with a Purpose, an international non-profit organization that documents and protects African slave-trade shipwrecks. A behind-the-scenes look at NOVA’s three-part series Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine, followed by a panel discussion with acclaimed film producer, photojournalist, and Honorary Society member Brian Skerry, as well as talks by oceanographer Phillipe Cousteau and TV personality and science communicator Danni Washington, were also featured as part of 2024’s Lecture Series. All Aquarium lectures are free and open to the public, thanks to the generous support of the Lowell Institute.
We held over 100 events in the Simons Theatre last year, from Lectures to community and private events to World Ocean Day and more!
Engaging and Supporting
Marine Conservation Fund celebrated 25 years of ocean impact
In 2024, the Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF) celebrated 25 years of supporting locally based conservation projects and leaders worldwide. By investing over $1.8 million in more than 230 projects, MCAF has been able to support community leaders in achieving national protection for giant manta rays, creating a shark sanctuary, constructing a sea turtle hospital, expanding monitoring of various species, and pioneering solutions to pressing conservation issues.
A recently published study in the journal Biological Conservation, authored by MCAF staff, fellows, and collaborators, showed the success of small grants programs like MCAF in addressing conservation challenges while promoting social equity. The study showed that projects supported by MCAF had immediate impacts, such as filling knowledge gaps and protecting individual animals, and contributed to lasting conservation impacts, including new species protections, the creation of new marine protected areas, and sustained research and monitoring efforts.
In 2024, MCAF celebrated 25 years of supporting locally based conservation projects and leaders worldwide! MCAF staff, fellows, and collaborators published a paper to show the impact of this work, joining larger conversations about how small grants can advance global ocean conservation and management equity.
BPS Sundays pilot expanded access to the Aquarium
On February 4, 2024, we welcomed 934 enthusiastic Boston Public School (BPS) students and their families for the launch of the brand-new BPS Sundays program. We joined five other institutions across the City as part of the BPS Sundays pilot, offering free admission to BPS students and their family members.
The Aquarium is proud to continue our collaboration with the City of Boston in 2025 for the expanded Boston Family Days program, which will welcome all K-12 students who live in Boston and Pre-K students in Boston programs along with two of their guests.
An Aquarium delegation attended Capitol Hill Ocean Week
In early June, members of the Aquarium’s leadership team, two of our ClimaTeens, and Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life scientists and experts attended Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) in Washington, D.C.
Hosted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Capitol Hill Ocean Week is the nation’s premier ocean policy conference, which takes place each year in June during Ocean Month. CHOW brings together a broad and diverse coalition of the conservation community, including scientists, policymakers, Indigenous groups, youth advocates, business leaders, educators, and the philanthropic community, all gathering around significant issues that impact our ocean.
Expanded World Ocean Day Celebration engaged the community in ocean action
The Aquarium celebrated World Ocean Day in June with free, all-ages activities and programming around the theme of “Connecting Communities, Empowering Actions for our Ocean.” This year’s celebration featured expanded offerings and highlighted community members who work to protect the ocean, including the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, art from young artists with the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Program, and Java with Jimmy.
Community events promoted wellness, diversity, and equitable waterfront access
The Aquarium partnered with several local non-profits and organizations to highlight community wellness initiatives during the year. Atomic Hands hosted a program at the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef exhibit in honor of World Day of the Deaf, featuring ASL-proficient divers and interactive and educational activities; a wellness walk in partnership with the MGH Institute of Health Professions and CRIW welcomed 30 stroke survivors as part of MGH’s Tedy’s Team Center of Excellence in Stroke Recovery; and the North American Indian Center of Boston hosted the inaugural Indigenous Women’s Healing Empowerment event featuring Sara Melcher in our Simons Theatre.
The Aquarium was also represented at the annual Boston Pride Parade in June, with a group of staff marching in the parade. Staff tabled at community events throughout the city of Boston, including at the Juneteenth Joy event in Hyde Park.
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