'Sea pickles' washing ashore on Pacific coast baffle scientists

'Sea pickles': The bizarre organisms have swept the west coast of America in 'unprecedented' numbers
REUTERS

Millions of mysterious organisms known as ‘sea pickles’ are invading the west coast of America.

The bizarre translucent critters have been clogging fishing nets and littering beaches in “unprecedented” numbers.

Fishermen along the west coast told researchers they are at times unable to catch anything as the tiny marine creatures are so dense and tightly packed.

The distinctive animals, which are only a few millimetres long but gather in huge colonies, are increasingly washing up on popular beaches.

Olivia Blondheim, a member of a new research team set up to study the bloom, said her group are astounded by the influx of the organism.

Pyrosomes: Colonies of thousands of the organisms have washed up on popular beaches in the US
REUTERS

“Right now we are scrambling to learn as much as possible while we have the opportunity,” she told the Guardian.

“There are so many unknowns at this point, it really is a remarkable bloom.”

She added: “There were reports of some pyrosomoes in 2014, and a few more in 2015 but this year there has been an unprecedented, insane amount.”

The University of Oregon graduate also questioned the impact huge numbers of the odd-looking creatures will have on local ecosystems.

Pyrosomes usually live in the upper layers of the open ocean in warm seas, although some are found a bit deeper.

The cylindrical-shape colonies are made up of thousands of individuals, known as zooids.

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