Japan’s Tsunami debris washing up in Washington comes with Environmental Concern

Four years have passed after the earthquake in Japan that triggered a tsunami and devastated Japan's coast. Till now, debris washes up in Washington. Now concerns have been raised that the debris from the 2011 tsunami has caused environmental concerns in the form of invasive species that have crossed the Pacific Ocean.

State Department of Fish and Wildlife's aquatic invasive-species unit has recovered a small barnacle-encrusted Japanese boat from a remote shore near La Push, Clallam County. Now, the main aim of the unit is get rid of marine debris and also, to prevent the spread of invasive marine species.

On Thursday, coordinator Allen Pleus and technician Nancy Franco have assessed the boat and taken samples for biological tests. The samples will be shipped to experts across the nation for analysis.

This year, it is third such project to reach the unit. Last year, 40 such projects were handled by the unit. Pleus said since the tsunami incident has taken place, he has seen almost everything floating from docks and boats to tires and refrigerators.

Concerning part is certain species start staying on debris and were found to be thriving when discovered. "These become their own ecosystems in the ocean. What's not natural is that they're on man-made objects that don't disintegrate", said Pleus.

Owing to a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the tsunami came off the coast of Japan. It was the most powerful earthquake to have ever hit Japan and was one of the strongest ever recorded.