Boats continue to roll in, as spring winds dissipate

As spring's easterly winds die down (at least for now), what is likely the last of the wave of boats to reach US shores is rolling in.

Despite a Memorial Day Weekend with relatively calm weather, 3 boats were found on Washington beaches, as well as one boat in Oregon (by me!). Another boat has been reported south of Waldport, Oregon but has yet to be located.

The first of the three Washington boats was found near Ocean Park on May 23, and was approximately 20 feet long. It included mainly Lepas antifera, pelagic gooseneck barnacles.


Next, 2 more boats were sighted on May 24 in the Long Beach Washington area near Seaview Beach and Bolstad Beaches by Washington State Parks Recreation Commission Long Beach Area manager Tom Benenati. Benenati helped with sampling the boat and coordinated the removal of them from the beach, where they will await identification and communication from the Japanese Consulate.

The three vessels that washed ashore in Washington State this Memorial Day weekend. Photo: Thomas Benenati, WSPRC

Lastly, my discovery on May 26 (Monday) is evidence that you never know what you are going to find on the beach! I had journeyed down the South Trail at Cape Lookout with my boyfriend and spotted the partial bow of a boat about 1/2 a mile up the beach. Evidence that preparedness is everything, I of course had no proper camera or bags for collecting samples of any sort. Working against the impending rain storm, we removed a few of the ~20 mussels from the boat and snapped some photos with my iPhone. I am sorry to say that I of all people was not more prepared for this one! The boat was only a partial deck (the bow end) with a rectangular hold containing a few clumps of mussels, bristly hydroids, and the remains of some very sad-looking gooseneck barnacles- the boat had likely been sitting for a duration of several days.

The boat section as I found it on Memorial Day. Partial covering in sand and lack of marine life suggests it had been there for a while. (Photo: Sheanna Steingass)

This brings our boat total since April 23, 2014 up to 25 vessels! This number is a reminder that we should really appreciate all of the parks employees, ODFW/WDFW employees, scientists, non-profits, and volunteers for the tremendous amount of work that they have put in the last 2 years.  Many folks have devoted a lot of their time quickly responding to, cleaning up, and studying the tsunami debris that has reached our shores.  Keep up the good, and very important work that is keeping our beaches clean and safe!

The moral of the story is, it never hurts to bring the basic beachcombing essentials with you on the beach- gloves, bags, and a camera.
 

Two more boats, dock section wash ashore in Oregon

Adding to the enormous amount of marine debris that has washed ashore on eastern Pacific shores this week, two more boats (one intact, the other partial) and a small section of floating dock have washed ashore in Oregon today.

The first boat, although somewhat dilapidated, contained some biological surprises-  three live sea stars, an anemone, mussels and the giant red barnacle which has made many appearances- Balanus rosa. 

The boat found at Carter Lake that contained 3 live sea stars. (Photo: Scott Groth, ODFW)

The sea stars have been confirmed to be of the species Patiria pectinifera, a Japanese species- meaning they have made the journey intact across the Pacific Ocean.  Sea stars are predators, so they likely survived by eating barnacles and bivalves attached to the boat as it floated.  The concern is that invasive species could continue to do this and establish themselves in the rocky intertidal zones of the United States and Canada- potentially displacing important keystone predators such as purple and sunflower sea stars.

Some very cool, but potentially invasive sea stars were found hitchhiking aboard the vessel.  (Photo: Scott Groth, ODFW)

The second boat came ashore near Tahkenitch Lake and was in excellent condition.  It was approximately 22 feet in length, and had an intact hull ID plate, which will help to trace the vessel back to its original port and owner.  The boat was much less biologically diverse, and contained mostly pelagic gooseneck barnacles.

Boat ID plate that may help trace the boat back to it's origins (Photo: Scott Groth, ODFW)

The intact vessel that washed ashore.  (Photo: Scott Groth, ODFW)

Lastly, near the outlet of the Suislaw River (adding to the pattern that marine debris tends to wash up near fresh water outlets), a small section of dock as well as a net washed up.  The dock section was approximately 6' x 4' x 4' and had two live limpets on it.  Limpets have been an unusual occurrence on Japanese tsunami marine debris thus far, but have made a couple appearances in this recent pulse of items from Japan.

The section of concrete dock that washed ashore near the Siuslaw River (Photo: Scott Groth, ODFW)

A graph showing the increase in boats found since 2012.  That number has more the doubled in the last month- this number is only representative of reported boats; there are likely many more. (Sheanna Steingass)

 Reports of more major and culturally-significant debris are likely to pour in these coming weeks- come back soon!

A special thanks to Scott Groth (ODFW) for the excellent sample collection and photography of the latest debris.

TEN Boats Wash Ashore on Pacific Coast in 3 Weeks

 Update: ANOTHER boat washed ashore at Cape Arago yesterday (May 20th), making the new number of boats nine TEN.  More on this boat soon.

Boat #10 makes it ashore in Cape Arago, Oregon

In what has been an absolutely peak week and month in tsunami debris,  thousands (perhaps more) of pounds of marine debris from the tsunamis, as well as normal debris, has washed ashore on the shores of the eastern Pacific ocean.

Strong winds blowing eastward in the California Current System (Washington to Baja) has driven marine debris straight inshore and onto beaches.  Perhaps most surprisingly, this has included nine Japanese skiffs that have been cataloged as likely tsunami debris on US beaches.  This includes two boats in Washington, one in California, and six in Oregon state alone.  Along with these nine boats are likely others that have washed ashore on remote beaches, or have not been reported to authorities.  All boats have had live Japanese mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), a potential invasive species, as well as hydroids, byrozoans, worms sponges, and even anemones according to Dr. Jim Carlton of Williams-Mystic Maritime Program. Further details on the boats, as well as a map with photos and links to news articles can be found at the bottom of this post.

In addition to these boats, large amounts of floating debris have landed on beaches, prompting state and region-wide beach cleanups.  One five mile stretch of beach, for example, yielded more than 120 bouys of various sizes- many of which were Japanese or Asian in origin.

One of many bouys washed ashore this month.

I had a chance to go visit this beach after the cleanup of more than 70 objects, and found at least 50 more still in less accessible areas.  My estimate is also very conservative.  I was able to photograph many of these objects, but had to turn back due to time constraints.

Objects of all sizes littered the beach.

On May 15 and 16, two boats washed ashore in Oregon- a skiff north of the Umpqua River, and a 25-foot skiff in Brian Booth State Park near Newport.  This skiff was also accompanied by a large gill net of unknown origin.  I was lucky enough to go along and help Dr. John Chapman (Oregon State University) sample this boat before the Parks Department hauled it off before spectators could accumulate.

Axes or shovels are used to remove clinging barnacles and other organisms from marine debris for sampling.  I am never one to turn down an ax-wielding photo op!

The boat was teeming with pelagic gooseneck barnacles (Lepas anatifera) as well as approximately 50 non-native mussels, scallops, and drifter crabs. In the boat was a styrofoam cooler with intact Japanese text that had likely been trapped under the vessel for two years. After the boat was biologically sampled, state employees hauled it off the beach.

What else has washed up?  Hard hats, plastic debris, ropes, floats, styrofoam, shoes, toys, wood and construction debris, and many other floating objects.  Another interesting bit of debris is a bouy with Japanese limpets- to my knowledge this is an uncommon occurrence.  Both limpets were alive; the first (shown in the middle of the image below) is Cellana radiata, and the second is as yet confirmed but is likely a Lottia spp.

A bouy with oyster and live non-native limpets found inside Coos Bay.  Photo: Leif K. Rasmuson (OIMB)

If you find debris on the beach, please report it using the reporting form and remove it from the beach if it is non-hazardous.  Remember, do not touch any oil-coated or dangerous objects.  Please report any culturally-significant objects (boats, vehicles, religious or personal artifacts), or objects with a lot of marine life.  Check my debris resources page for your local authorities.

This month has been a reminder that, although the Tohoku earthquake and tsunamis happened over two years ago, we will be seeing marine debris washing ashore for a long time, with unknown ecological impacts.  If you would like to get involved and help with beach cleanups or other volunteer work, you can contact SOLVe or the Surfrider Foundation.



(A big thanks to Jim Carlton of Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program for compiling a great list of latest debris, and John Chapman of Oregon State University for keeping me up to date on all the debris!)