Boat suspected to be tsunami debris found off Oregon -- with live fish common to Japan (PHOTOS)



WALDPORT, Ore. -- Part of a fiberglass boat believed to be debris from Japan's 2011 tsunami was spotted off Oregon's coast Thursday morning -- and it arrived with a live variety of fish found in coastal waters of Japan.

The 25-30' long was spotted west of Ona Beach in Lincoln County around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said.

"The debris appears to be half to two-thirds of a larger vessel, possibly damaged and set adrift during the earthquake and tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan in 2011," the department said.

Biologists with the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center inspected the low-floating object and and found "several live specimens of a variety of yellowtail jack fish found in the coastal waters of Japan."

Oregon authorities plan to tow the wreckage to the Port of Newport for temporary storage.

The debris will eventually be removed from water, studied by OSU researchers, then dismantled and disposed of in a local landfill, the department said.

The surviving fish will be removed and delivered into the care of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, it said.