The tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011 carried over 300 marine species across the Pacific to the shores of the USA and Canada. Experts are already calling this phenomenon the largest migration of marine species, as over a million creatures, including sea slugs, crabs, and sea worms, traversed a vast distance of approximately 7,725 kilometers.
– It is the largest unplanned natural experiment in the history of marine biology, said Professor John Chapman from Oregon State University, who conducted a scientific study on the effects of this natural disaster.
It has been recorded that the tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake, generated five million tons of various natural debris that ended up in the Pacific, originating from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima.
About 70 percent of that debris immediately sank to the ocean floor, while the remainder embarked on a journey to the west coast of the USA.
Thus, 289 Japanese marine species, carried on various debris, reached the shores of Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Hawaii, as well as the shores of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some species successfully reproduced during this journey.
– My jaw dropped when I noted the diversity of these species. There was everything, crabs, corals, mollusks. A complete cross-section of Japanese fauna, Chapman told The Guardian.
Although the research concluded last year, American marine biologists continue to find debris arriving from Japan. Last year, a small boat containing Japanese fish species drifted to Oregon. Huge amounts of plastic and waste served as transportation for marine creatures to the shores of the USA.
– I couldn’t believe that these marine creatures could survive so long in the open sea. However, the non-decomposing plastic, combined with destructive storms, evidently provided them with that opportunity, said marine biologist Greg Ruiz from the Smithsonian Institution.
Additionally, the impact on the marine biology of the shores where Japanese species have arrived will only be visible in a few years. Currently, it is still impossible to predict whether the incoming species will become invasive and thus pose a threat to marine life and habitat along the shores of America.
