And when I say “dock cleanup” I mean the dock, literally, got a thorough cleaning right on the beach today!
The dock is confirmed debris from the Japan tsunami and mega-quake. And the first big item to land in Oregon.Â
A crew of about 12 workers shoveled and scraped off an estimated 2,000 pounds of marine life from the dock at Agate Beach in Newport, Oregon. Some of the marine life attached to the dock came the entire distance from Japan. Some of it may have been picked up along the way.
 The Oregon Parks Department took this picture (all of these on this page, too) of the exotic Japanese Acorn Barnacle that was attached to the dock. Marine experts think this one came the whole distance from Japan. Amazing to think it probably experienced the tsunami and just kept hanging on.
 Researchers say this one is a known invasive — in other words, it could cause trouble if allowed to grow and thrive along and near our shores.
 Once the big stuff was piled on the beach to be buried in the sand, crews switched tactics, and brought out the real fire power! They scorched off the smallest of the marine organisms. The hope is that all this work will protect Oregon’s fragile eco-system and coastline.
 This is how the dock looked before the cleanup. Almost like it needed a shave. Now it is stubble free–and an amazing site for a growing number of people coming to the Oregon Coast to see tsunami debris that really is a piece of history.
Excellent, interesting series of articles on tsunami debris but, please, your picture suggests you are over thirteen years old so think twice before you keep hitting that “!” key.
Charlie–you’re right. I love that exclamation mark. Thanks for the reminder that I need to cut back.