Tsunami carries exotic Japanese fish to Monterey, USA

Sports divers have discovered an exotic warm water species in Monterey's Breakwater, which is mainly native to Japan. The species, nicknamed the 'tsunami fish', is officially known as the barred knifejaw. According to scientist, there lies a much bigger story behind this observation. The tsunami, which took place in Japan in 2011, may have transported hundreds of warm water species to the coast of the USA, that now survive. Watch video: 

Tropical fish species

Nicholas Ta (27), divemasters at the Bamboo Reef Dive Center in Monterey (USA), first spotted the fish in December 2014 in Monterey's Breakwater. His friend Dennis Lewis helped him identify the barred knifejaw and they looked for it on future dives. There were a few more sightings in 2015 and then nothing until October. Ta shot new video of the fish last month. He said the fish looks pretty healthy and doesn't have any cuts or torn fins. Earliers sightings of the barred knifejaw date from 2011.

Debrie from tsunami

Scientists believe the fish made the 5.000-mile trip across the Pacific Ocean in debris from the tsunami caused by the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Marine biologist, Jonathan Geller, of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, is not suprised. He says he and his colleagues have documented a total of 289 Japanese species in the past year living off the cost of the USA and Hawaii. The tsunami washed huge amounts of material out to sea and created debris fields that became habitats for marine life. A lot of them survive but they can't reproduce due to the colder water.