Officials tracking debris off Wash. coast

December 17, 2012 @ 5:44 pm

SEATTLE (AP) - Federal, state and tribal officials are attempting to track a large dock that was reported drifting off the coast of Washington state, one of potentially hundreds of objects that could wash up along the West Coast from the tsunami that struck Japan last year.

The object has not been relocated or confirmed since it was initially reported Friday by fishermen, Keeley Belva, a spokeswoman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Monday.

Fishermen aboard the vessel Lady Nancy reported seeing a large object floating off the coast, about 16 nautical miles northwest of Grays Harbor. The object is similar to a large dock that beached in Oregon over the summer, officials said.

The Coast Guard has been broadcasting alerts to mariners about the floating debris spotted last week, and helicopter crews have also conducted five searches, covering about 320 square miles, in search of the object.

"It doesn't pose a danger right now to anyone," said Coast Guard spokesman Robert Lanier, adding that the goal is to locate it, attach a data marker and track exactly where it goes to agencies that can deal with it responsibly.

The Coast Guard is working with NOAA, state agencies and the Quinault Indian nation to track the object.

Terry Egan, the tsunami marine debris lead for Washington state who is with the Washington Emergency Management Division, said modeling estimates the dock could likely reach landfall near the Quinault Indian Nation reservation or on Olympic National Park land.

The object sits low in the water and may be difficult to spot in rough waters, Egan said.

"My preferred response is to get it at sea, get a beacon on it and get a tugboat to tow it to the nearest port where we can deal with it, while safeguarding any transfer of invasive species," he said.

Egan said a scientist studying tsunami debris from Japan believes that the dock floating off Washington's coast may be one of four pieces from the fishing port of Misawa. One of those turned up at Newport, Ore., in June.

Staff from Olympic National Park plan to patrol the area near Ruby Beach on Tuesday to see if the object has washed ashore, said park spokeswoman Rainey McKenna.

Members of the Quinault tribe drove along the coast and scanned the beach from a high spot but did not find anything Monday, said John Preston, the tribe's emergency management director.

"We're really concerned about invasive species," he said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell has pushed through new legislation intended to speed up federal response to marine debris cleanup, the Daily World of Aberdeen reported Sunday ( http://is.gd/KPHoIX).

That legislation was added as an amendment to the Coast Guard authorization bill, HR 2838, and awaits approval by President Barack Obama, the newspaper reported. It directs NOAA's administrator to form a task force to come up with a tsunami debris cleanup plan.

"The plan would make tsunami debris cleanup more effective by coordinating and directing all debris removal in Washington state and across the West Coast," Cantwell said in a statement.

NOAA's Marine Debris Program has been leading efforts to collect data, assess debris and reduce possible impacts to coastal communities and natural resources.

The Japanese government estimated that the March 11, 2011, tsunami swept about 5 million tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean. Most of that sank immediately, while 1.5 million tons were dispersed across the North Pacific Ocean.

NOAA estimates the bulk of what is coming either has arrived or will in the next year or so _ but that's a rough guess.

NOAA has received about 1,400 debris reports in the past year, including bottles and buoys. Of those reports, 17 have been confirmed as definite tsunami debris, including a 20-foot boat, pieces of which were recovered earlier this month in Hawaii.

___

Online:

NOAA Marine Debris Program: http://marinedebris.noaa.gov


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (17)


  • Add A Comment

  • MK wrote...
    Dictionary.com
    March 27, 2012 8:47 am
    jetsam: goods cast overboard deliberately, as to lighten a vessel or improve its stability in an emergency, which sink where jettisoned or are washed ashore.

    flotsam: 1. the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water. Compare jetsam, lagan. 2. material or refuse floating on water.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Don of the dead wrote...
    BEWARE!!!!
    March 27, 2012 8:50 am
    Items will glow in the dark. Put them on a bardge and send em back!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mac76 wrote...
    Report to NOAA
    March 27, 2012 12:17 pm
    so they can declare elevated levels of radiation with associated debris. Then NOAA will close all coastal beaches and fishing. They have always wanted a marine sanctuary anyways. :-)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • RoPo wrote...
    AK
    March 30, 2012 12:08 pm
    Re-defining words is something these people do very well. Don't fight it or you will be labeled a bigot. You will be assimilated!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    Use a net...
    March 30, 2012 6:34 pm
    and drag it back and return the materials to Japan...I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have their junk back.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Saltchucker wrote...
    Get ready to lose access to our ocean(s)
    March 31, 2012 9:04 am
    The Obama administration did not need any help in stealing our freedoms and livelyhoods, but you can bet that NOAA under the leadership of Jane Lubchenco(brought to you by the Pew Charitable Trust) will declare some sort of "emergency" under the auspices of Obama's National Ocean Policy Plan to remove human activities from our coasts. That was the plan in first place, but this debris will just make it easier. The ocean policy plan could not be passed by Congress so we get one more executive order crammed down our throats with absolutely NO PUBLIC COMMENT ALLOWED!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    WIll the Debris
    June 13, 2012 12:47 pm
    Still be on fire like in the MYNW photo....?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • bofus wrote...
    saltchucker
    June 13, 2012 1:29 pm
    just filled up the diaper with his screed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roughelm wrote...
    Look to Olympia
    June 18, 2012 10:46 am
    Let Gregoire,and her Democrats clean up the beaches. That may be the only worthwhile thing,they will do before leaving office. Thank God!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ottmilkr wrote...
    Really Rough ?
    June 30, 2012 9:57 am
    And you want Conservatives to come in and - let me guess : slash programs for the down and out, install a tax structure that ensure the wealthy become even more wealthy , lift environmental restrictions so Corporations can strip mine and log the National Forests ... what else.... did I miss anything?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hawkman wrote...
    absoultly..
    July 3, 2012 5:04 pm
    slash waste filled programs and get people off thier butts , install tax stucture for the wealthy to become more successful leading to more grow and production and jobs, cut enviromental restrictions so we can put back to work the thousands out due to this and strip the lands to sell our resourses to help build and renew business so they can invest in rebuiding our nature forest and help develope new sources of energy.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Alex Mason wrote...
    You don't need the fed to help.
    June 18, 2012 1:00 pm
    There's a few thousand "occutard" protesters that are more than qualified to round up debris and put it to good use. Smoke it, turn it into compost, etc.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Really? The first idea is to grab federal dollars?
    June 18, 2012 2:05 pm
    Really? Yeah yeah, just put it on that maxed out credit card that Obama carries in his wallet. Please. This is an issue that we should be able to handle. Fire two or three pencil pushers and boom, there's the money to clean up the garbage.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Sure....get it from the Feds.
    July 3, 2012 3:17 pm
    The naive Liberals...or maybe there all just brain dead. It's as if D.C. has a magical money fairy residing there. The Federal gob't is US folks. It all comes from the same pool: TAXPAYERS.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Idiot!
    July 3, 2012 3:17 pm
    You will need that to pay for ObamaCare!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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