Lots of things have floated up on the shores of America's West Coast - from small household items, boats and even docks - but last week, a unique kind of "debris" was found: live native Japanese fish.
The small striped fish didn't swim all that distance without some place , though, they arrived in a small boat, which was probably part of the huge waves of debris washing up on the shore after a long ride across the Pacific ocean. Biologists from the Washington state fish and Wildlife Department found the fish - five live striped beakfish - in a cozy bait box on the boat, which washed ashore on March 22 at Long Beach in southwest Washington state, according to the Seattle Times.
"A 20 to 30-gallon containment hold in the boat's stern lost its cover, and that part of the boat was submerged as the vessel drifted in the ocean," said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife scientist Allen Pleus to CNN, saying that the submerged part of the boat had created something like "a cave they could go in and out of."
Large debris in the ocean will often attract fish. Sunken ships, for example, often become rich habitats for ocean wildlife. So, according to Pleus, it's not surprising tha these fish would use the debris for a protective habitat. But for these fish to survive crossing the Pacific Ocean - nearly 5,000 miles in all - is pretty surprising.
"It's very rare that you'd see something like this," said Pleus. "Obviously, fish are very robust and we are learning this on all of the species that come across."
All but one of the beakfish were killed to minimize exposure of invasive species to Washington's environment. The one that "got away" is actually being kept at the Seaside Oregon Aquarium: called the "Tsunami Fish" by the aquarium's staff, it's going on display this weekend.
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