Exotic Japanese fish wash up 5,000 miles away in US after surviving as stowaways on board a skiff blown over by the 2011 tsunami

Officials inspecting a Japanese skiff that washed up on the shores of Washington two years after the devastating tsunami were in for a big surprise in the form of five tiny stowaways.

The 18-foot boat that ended up on the Long Beach Peninsula March 22 was carrying five knifejaw, or striped beak fish, that are native to the waters off Japan, China and Korea.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said that it marked the first time that vertebrae have been found ashore with tsunami debris.




Scaly stowaway: A small tropical beakfish found aboard a Japanese skiff that washed ashore in Washington state





Natural fish tank: The five fish made the 5,000-mile journey in a 20-30 gallon containment hold in the stern of the Saisho-Maru skiff

Of the five fishy passengers, only one survived the long journey and has since been transported to the Seaside Aquarium in Oregon, LiveScience reported.

The tropical fish, about 4-and-a-half inches long, made the 5,000-mile journey in a 20-30 gallon containment hold in the stern of the Saisho-Maru skiff that was partially submerged as the vessel drifted across the ocean.


The fish appear to have survived the trip by feeding on other organisms in the boat, according to the station KING5.

Allen Pleus, a scientist with the DFW, created a cave-like environment for the critters not unlike a fish tank.


'It's very rare that you’d see something like this,' Pleus told CNN. 'Obviously, fish are very robust and we are learning this on all of the species that come across.'

When the fiberglass skiff first washed ashore last month, a local resident who went aboard to explore the partially flooded vessel discovered one of the tropical fish in the container. The stowaway was scooped out in a bucket and sent to Long Beach City Hall.




Tsunami transplant: This crab was among several marine species found aboard the drifting Japanese boat





Fellow travelers: Sea worms also hitched a ride on the doomed, partially submerged boat





Organisms such as scallops likely attached themselves to the boat after the tsunami hit

The slippery seafarer was later taken to an aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, to live out its days in the safety of a fish tank.

'He is a pretty cool fish, and I wonder if there are more out there,' Seaside Aquarium General Manager Keith Chandler said.

Upon closer examination of the holding tank aboard the tsunami boat, DFW staffers discovered three more fish in the murky water.

The fifth and final scaly traveler emerged after the vessel was towed to a state yard for inspection.

Four of the fish that did not make it alive were sent to Oregon State University, where they will be dissected so that scientists could determine their ages, diet and reproductive status.

'The reproductive status and age will help us figure out if they rode the entire way from Japan starting over two years ago, or most likely they came from Hawaii,' Pleus said.

Japanese officials have yet to confirm that the skiff was swept away in the tsunami, although its registration number indicates that it originated in the region that was impacted by the storm, Pleus told LiveScience.



Path of destruction: When the deadly tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, about 5 million tons of debris was dragged into the Pacific Ocean





Most of the flotsam and jetsam sunk to the bottom of the ocean, but about 1.5 tons of debris continued on its journey





Coming to America: Wrecked boats, docks and ghost ships have washed ashore in the U.S. or have been spotted off the coast
While researchers suspect that the five fish came all the way from Japan, it is also possible that the boat somehow picked them up off the coast of Hawaii, where the beak fish also can be found.

Besides the fishy stowaways, other marine species also hitched a ride on the doomed boat, including algae, sea anemones, scallops, crabs, worms and a sea cucumber.

When the deadly tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, about 5 million tons of debris was dragged into the Pacific Ocean, according to Japanese government estimates.

Most of the flotsam and jetsam later sunk to the bottom, but about 1.5 tons of debris continued floating across the ocean.

Some of tsunami remnants found their way to American shores, including two docks that made landfall in Washington and Oregon. But the only living organisms that were discovered on the docks included plant life and invertebrate like limpets and barnacles.




Unexpected find: In December 2012, a Japanese dock drifted ashore on the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington





Primitive lifeforms: The only living organisms that were discovered on the dock included plant life and invertebrate like limpets and barnacles

Last June, a 70-foot dock landed on a beach north of Newport. It was determined to be one of four docks that broke loose from the Port of Misawa on Honshu, Japan, the station KOIN reported.


In December 2012, a second Japanese dock drifted ashore on the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington.

Prior to the discovery of the fish on the skiff, scientists believed that no species could survive a long journey across the ocean, and that only large objects, like docks, could support life.