Photo by Joy Marzolf

MIT Sea Grant is on the lookout for invasive species. Get the free guide, and help out.
More info
For more info, look at the Invasives section of the website.

Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots, non-profit organization of recreational divers who regularly conduct fish biodiversity and abundance surveys during their dives.
View collection data for Massachusetts

Salem Sound Coastwatch is a partnership of citizens, communities and government that strives to protect and improve the environmental quality of Salem Sound and its watershed. Part of the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program (MassBays)

The New England Aquarium's hotline for any stranded marine animal is (617) 973-5247
All reports of living or dead marine animals should be reported to the hotline #, which is manned 24/7. Land animals and marine birds should be reported to town/city animal control.
What to do

Seafood Watch
A program of Monterey Bay Aquarium provides recommendations on which fish to choose by raising consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources.

Invasive Species Resources

Invasive Species

Most Wanted: Chinese Mitten Crab (printable .pdf guidesheet)

Mitten Crab Watch

Northeast Nusance Species Panel Page

Gulf of Maine Research Institute Species Watch

The Chinese Mitten Crab is a potential invader for New England. As of 2008, individuals have been found as far north as Raritan Bay in New Jersey, but there is not yet a confirmed reproductive population in eastern U.S.

Adult

hairy claws with white tips, normally equal in size
notch between the eyes
four lateral carapace spines (fourth spine is small)
smooth, round carapace or body shape
maximum carapace width (distance across the back) is approximately 80 mm (3 inches)
legs over twice as long as the carapace width
light brown color

Juvenile

notch between the eyes
claws may not be hairy if carapace width is less than 20 mm (¾ inch)
claws are hairy by 25 mm (1 inch) carapace width
four lateral carapace spines (fourth spine is small)
smooth, round carapace or body shape
legs over twice as long as the carapace width
light brown color

Reproduced from Mitten Crab Watch

Live Chinese Mitten Crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) have been found in Chesapeake Bay (2005-2007), Delaware Bay (2007), Hudson River (2007-2008), and most recently in New Jersey (2008). To date, there have been 19 crabs documented and confirmed in the eastern United States, including four states, all in the past four years. (from Salem Sound Coastwatch accessed 3/11/09)

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/mittencrab.shtml#.UHYvn1E4Rh0

Top Ten Invasive Species

Green Crab Carcinus maenas
Colonial Tunicate or Sea Squirt Didemnum vexillum More Resources
Star Tunicate Botryllus schlosseri More Resources
Orange Tunicate Botrylloides violaceus
Brush-clawed Shore Crab Hemigrapsus takanoi
"Dead Man's Fingers" coduim fragile More Resoutces
European Flat Oyster Ostrea edulis
Asian Shore Crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus More Resources
Chinese Mitten Crab Eriocheir sinensis More Resources
Veined rapa welk, Rapana venosa More Resources

If you have seen a marine exotic (also known as non-native, invasive, and bioinvader), please report it via Marine Invader Tracking Information System - [ Instructions ]

Get the Hitchhikers Guide
MIT Sea Grant produces a Hitchhikers Guide to Exotic Species, a handy guide to spot invasive species. Download an electronic copy of the guide in PDF format. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file).
If you would like a paper copy of the guide, email your request to: hitchhikers@mit.edu.

Some news stories of note:

Invasive seaweed threatens environment along New England coast
http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/06/27/invasive-seaweed-threatens-environment-along-new-england-coast/IkZ0AeP1V3srNpsGJCK4KL/story.html

Update on geographic spread of invasive lionfishes
http://www.aquaticinvasions.net/2010/Supplement/AI_2010_5_S1_Schofield.pdf

Hemigrapsus sanguineus (De Haan, 1835) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Grapsoidea)
a new invasive species in European waters: the case of the French English
Channel coast (2008–2010)
http://www.aquaticinvasions.net/2011/AI_2011_6_3_Dauvin_Dufosse.pdf

Mussels evolve quickly to defend against invasive crabs It looks like New England Mussels are evolving a harder shell to combat the increased attacks of invasive crabs. What's interesting is that this has occurred in about 15 years - rather than thousands of years that evolution usually takes

Invasive sea squirts persist on Georges Bank Monitoring by Woods Hole has found that the invasive Tunicates (see above) have thrived. "The area of seabed covered by the colonies has doubled at 75 percent of the sites we observed in both 2005 and 2006"