The Western Pacific barred knifejaw, Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844) (Pisces: Oplegnathidae), arriving with tsunami debris on the Pacific coast of North America

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The Western Pacific Ocean barred knifejaw Oplegnathus fasciatus was found from 2013 to 2015 along the Pacific Coast of North America from Washington to California. The knifejaw was found in derelict vessels that had arrived on the Pacific Coast and that had been lost during the March 2011 Great Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Knifejaw were also found free living in the wild in regions known to have received Japanese tsunami marine debris. No previous records of O. fasciatus are known east of the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Authors:  Ta, Nicholas; Miller, Jessica A.; Chapman, John W.; Pleus, Allen E.; Calvanese, Thomas; Miller-Morgan, Timothy; Burke, James; Carlton, James T.