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Boat Washed Ashore near Newport Possible Tsunami Debris

Oregon Office of Emergency Management

A boat that washed ashore on Gleneden Beach near Newport, Oregon appears to be debris from the March 2011 Japan Tsunami.

Stevin Rumrill is with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. He and a colleague inspected the 30-foot fiberglass boat Tuesday. He says they found it encrusted with gooseneck barnacles which climb aboard in the open ocean. "As we dug through those gooseneck barnacles. We also found mussels that looked to be a non-native species of mussel. And I also found one individual of a Japanese Acorn Barnacle."

Rumrill says the boat's passengers pose very little risk as invasive species. The boat is upside down in the sand, with its hull exposed. Rumrill says its very beat up. "So this vessel has undergone some traumatic experience in its life which is consistent with the bashing around that may have occurred off the coast of Northern Japan there."

Oregon Parks and Recreation will look to confirm whether the boat is indeed debris from the Japan tsunami.

Copyright 2013 Northwest News Network

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