Slipper Covered in Sea Life Found on Oregon Coast, Likely Tsunami Debris

Published 06/05/2013

(Seaside, Oregon) – Another interesting find on the Oregon coast that is presumably tsunami debris, but this time it is quite small. (All photos courtesy Seaside Aquarium's Tiffany Boothe)

A pink slipper was found by Cannon Beach resident Andy Kerr in late May, covered in a variety of sea life. Kerr brought it to Seaside Aquarium, where education specialist Tiffany Boothe said she believed it to be tsunami debris from the Japanese earthquake in March of 2011.

“Andy Kerr, of Cannon Beach, brought us a really cool find: a slipper which had been adrift in the ocean for quite some time,” Boothe said. “Pelagic gooseneck barnacles covered the inside of the slipper along with hdyrozoans.”

Hydrozoa are related to the jellyfish and some species can get quite large. These, however, were small.

Boothe said pelagic goosneck barnacles attach and live exclusively on floating debris, including boats, seaweed, and sometimes even sea turtles.

Pelagic gooseneck barnacles feed by collecting plankton in their feather-like feet.

Aquarium manager Keith Chandler said none of these species were invasive. In any case, they were dead by the time staff saw them.

Various kinds of debris from the Japanese tsunami have been arriving on the Oregon coast for about a year. The most publicized include parts of a spiritual temple that made landfall near Oceanside and Pacific City, and that massive dock that washed ashore in Newport in June, 2012.

The Seaside Aquarium currently has a fish on display that was carried here from the Japanese tsunami.

You can find out more about tsunami debris on the Oregon coast and keep up on news articles on the subject at the Oregon Coast Tsunami Debris page.

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