Officials are trying to determine if a boat that washed up on a beach is debris from the 2011 tsunami. The 20-foot boat with Japanese writing, believed to be a license or registration number on its side, washed ashore Sunday near Crescent City.
Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson reports, “Yesterday evening at about 8:30, we received our first debris from Japan. It washed up on South Beach and was full of goose neck barnacles.”
A team from Humboldt State University’s Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group, an assemblage of local, state and federal agencies and others that studies tsunami hazards is examining the small vessel. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the group is working with the Japanese government to try to confirm the origins of the craft.
Experts say while unlikely to be radioactive, debris could have invasive species, human remains, or other things that you may not want to casually handle. It’s recommended you call your local authorities to report such finds.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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