Oregon removes seaweed from wrecked dock to guard against 'invasive species'

(From a Certified Wildlife Biologist): Whenever people talk about controlling invasive species they are usually misleading... the fact is that most species have already "contaminated" most other places in the world - that's nature! (especially with humans around to help carry living things all around the world) Usually "exotics" simply don't/won't thrive in the "foreign" environment; sometimes an "exotic" DOES comes along and start to out-compete the "native" species and... guess what that isn't the first time this has ever happened - this is nature and it's how a particular assortment of species "came to be" in a certain place... survival of the fittest.... who are we to say at what point in-time a particular "assortment" of species in a particular area is to be defined as "native" and "what's supposed to be there?" "Controlling invasive species" is just a misleading cover for "man/government attempting to control nature" (or perhaps man-made nuclear waste). Think about it... this isn't the first time the U.S. west coast has ever been exposed to Japanese seaweed or barnacles

Since this debri has been traveling a very slow speed can we assume the species clinging to it have been healthy and reproducing all along the way? The offspring probably rode the currents in to shore long before the solid debri. Much of this aquatic life reproduces by spewing forth tiny reproductions to ride the currents to eventually attach to some stable surface. Me thinks cleaning up one float dock shows good intent but has no substantial impact on the overall situation.

Thanks for making my point. :)

So charging Oregon export quality wakami is not an option?

Rather reminds me of "Alien" movies, all three. Replace the "barnacles and seaweed" words in the article with "Alien" and there you go. Thank you, Ripley. They even broke out the flame throwers in your honor.

ReformedBasher,

I completely agree with your statements. Yes pests can travel in various forms and by various methods. However this pest has travelled clinging onto this pontoon.

My comments where aimed at a poster who claimed that the article and words invasive species was retarded and that this was purely due to it being tsunami debris. Obviously the poster in question failed to read the article before posting because if they had they would have seen reference to "wakame" kelp. And a quick look would have shown that this is indeed an invasive species and is actually listed as one of the 100 most invasive species in the world. So his statement that this is "retarded" and is purely due to the tsunami is well!!!!

if this floating dock is made from steel, why cant they cut it up for scrap and get some money for it? atleast this can pay for some moor clean up costs.

Cletus,

A few thoughts. Not all boats are fast. And not all pests are on the hull. Or on a boat at all.

Think there's been redback spiders found in Osaka and I'm pretty sure they were not hanging on to a hull holding their breath. According that infallible source of facts called Wikipedia, it's speculated they arrived by plane.

I guess a coconut floating to an island without any of it's own is an invasive species too...

USNinJapan2

Yes retarded, extremely retarded. Yes I naturally am aware of invasive species and the need to limit their introduction to an ecosystem, but my point is that this dock is being treated specially because it's tsunami debris.

No its a news item because its tsunami debris. Its being treated specially because of the potential for introducing foreign species into the local waters. Im sure you can differentiate between the two.

Your average container ship or tanker has ten times the amount of marine buildup on its hull than this very small dock. Yes, a 20 meter dock is small.

Yes a container ship is much much bigger than this dock. Captain obvious. But as l pointed out how many container ships float across the ocean at a couple of knots. Most container ships travel in excess of 10-15 knots so you are not going to get seaweed for example growing on the underside of a container ship.

I'm taking it you've never seen the bottom of an ocean going ship? Ever wondered why hull cleaning for ships is necessary and so costly?

Actually l have and lm yet to see one with seaweed growing on it. Barnacles and other growths yes but seaweed mmm nope. And given that they have identified on type of kelp on the pontoon that is native to Japan and is invasive and is not in Oregon then who is overreacting?

Bilge water is checked because it's easy to do so when the bilge is checked for oily waste level. No attention is paid to live marine buildup on the hull of the ship because it's not practical and deemed necessary. This dock is a hull, not bilge water.

MMM here is a quote for you from the Oregon DEQ regarding bilge water "The discharge of ballast water, used to provide vessel stability, may introduce aquatic non-indigenous species into Oregon waterways, potentially resulting in ecological damage, economic costs and/or human health concerns." See the words aquatic non indigenous species? That is not refering to oil, which you are correct is also checked for before discharge but is normally taken care of by separators.

Does the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife care as much about commercial ships which are the primary source of invasive species? No, because it's not as newsworthy as the single dock that floated over from Japan.

Well if you care to visit their website you will see they do. Afterall they have fines for operators not following the rules regarding bilge tests etc of $25000 per day. So yeah l would say they take it seriously

Cletus

Yes retarded, extremely retarded. Yes I naturally am aware of invasive species and the need to limit their introduction to an ecosystem, but my point is that this dock is being treated specially because it's tsunami debris.

How many vessels travel at the speed that this dock did? None so yes they will have barnacles etc but the will not have seaweed and the like on it. As the speed of most vessels prevent this build up.

Your average container ship or tanker has ten times the amount of marine buildup on its hull than this very small dock. Yes, a 20 meter dock is small. I'm taking it you've never seen the bottom of an ocean going ship? Ever wondered why hull cleaning for ships is necessary and so costly?

Oregon and other US ports actually have established regulations to stop the invasive species hitching a ride on ships. Things like bilge water inspections and reports that must be submitted to authorities 24 hours prior to entering ports.

Bilge water is checked because it's easy to do so when the bilge is checked for oily waste level. No attention is paid to live marine buildup on the hull of the ship because it's not practical and deemed necessary. This dock is a hull, not bilge water.

I commend the OPRD for taking advantage of the fact that they have this dock on dry land and also have volunteers to help keep the cost down for ridding it of potential invasive species, but it's hardly newsworthy and certainly not worthy of the spectacle that this is being turned into because this dock happened to be part of the tsunami debris. Does the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife care as much about commercial ships which are the primary source of invasive species? No, because it's not as newsworthy as the single dock that floated over from Japan.

USNinJapan2

Invasive species? This is retarded.

Retarded, really!!! Well just goes to show doesnt it. You do realise that many noxious and harmful species are transfered this way dont you. So being retarded hardly. And yes there are invasive species out there that could have hitched a ride. Surely you realise that.

This is just a show and Oregon is just trying to make a spectacle out of this. This dock is no different from any vessel that pulls into an Oregon port from a distant port whose bottoms are positively covered with mussels, barnacles marine algaes, etc. that could be considered to be invasive species but do they inspect or purge them of the natural buildup of marine life? No. Why don't they? Simple, because there's no need to.

Um try again there. A couple of points for you to consider before making ill informed comments.

How many vessels travel at the speed that this dock did? None so yes they will have barnacles etc but the will not have seaweed and the like on it. As the speed of most vessels prevent this build up. Oregon and other US ports actually have established regulations to stop the invasive species hitching a ride on ships. Things like bilge water inspections and reports that must be submitted to authorities 24 hours prior to entering ports.

So making a spectacle, hardly just common sense that anyone with a reasonable grasp on reality would realise.

Nature moved it there , so it is the invasion of the kelp?!

Invasive species infestations happend around the world all the time. There is no cure unless you want to fly everything (airfreight) and even that's not 100% safe. Also, I'm sure a lot of debris around the oceans was originally dislodged by a storm etc. How to account for that? Should we put ID tags on all of our shoreline buildings and trees just in case?

Invasive species? This is retarded. This is just a show and Oregon is just trying to make a spectacle out of this. This dock is no different from any vessel that pulls into an Oregon port from a distant port whose bottoms are positively covered with mussels, barnacles marine algaes, etc. that could be considered to be invasive species but do they inspect or purge them of the natural buildup of marine life? No. Why don't they? Simple, because there's no need to.

Think it could be refloated and moved to another location and be used as a dock.

1.5 million tons.

There are over 1.5 tons (estimated) of debris that are still floating. It 's not a problem that can be solved without the cooperation of the countries that are affected.

Question is, what are they gonna do with the dock now that it's washed up on the beach in Oregon? Looks pretty big...

I don't get anything Japan-specific from the title at all. Foreign/invasive species are all over the place in the US. Try explaining your state law restrictions to the European green crabs or the Chinese mitten crabs that have invaded the east coast. They come over on ships and make a new home. Several kinds of water weeds, the Asian carp and zebra mussel have nuked whole populations of native species in midwestern lakes and rivers. And those brown squirrels all over the US? Not native, they came over with the Europeans and basically squelched the native squirrels. It's a huge and troublesome issue, and it goes by the name "invasive species".

@Main: I don't detect anything other than a matter of fact tone to the title and article. " Invasive species" is a environmental/scientific term.

Well the title makes it sound like "Japan germs." I do know that here in Maine (The other Portland) bringing certain plants or wildlife from another state is illegal. Maine has strict laws to protect the ecosystem here. I just think the tone of the title is a bit misleading.