Marine life rides Japanese debris to North America

[Catherine]

In 2011 Japan was hit with a major tsunami and much debris was washed out into the Ocean. By 2012 this debris began appearing on west coast beaches. It is arriving and it has hitch hikers. Unusual Japanese marine life is traveling with the debris. 
These are sea creatures that have never lived on the North American west coast before. It is unknown what their impact will be on the environment.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/japane...-1.4311877

Previously marine animals couldn't have made the trip. They would have been clinging to biodegradable materials. Now with our modern indestructible waste, many animals have made the trip. 
It might seem exciting to think of seeing new and unusual  creatures  in old places, but we don't know what the consequences will be. It is like fish farming Atlantic Salmon in the Pacific Ocean. We don't know what the consequences will be.

I know most people were scared about radiation from Fukushima. This has the potential to be a much more serious and long term problem. Invasive species can destroy and ecosystem. Any number of these travelers could turn out to be invasive. We won't know until there is a problem. And that not knowing is a problem.