June 16, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A ‘Fire body’ creatures habitate local beaches in the water, like an army. At night, they drifted near the water’s surface. Fisher is pretty sure cockroaches will survive the apocalypse. After this most recent cruise, she added pyrosomes to the list. “It’s very eerie,” Zeman said. “There’s nothing else. It’s just them, and it kind of never stops.” “They could just keep going,” Brodeur said. “We have no idea where they end offshore.” They came from beneath the seas By Katie Frankowicz EO Media Group A strange organism has taken over the ocean waters off Oregon this spring, clogging fishing and re- search gear and confounding beach- combers and biologists. Fishermen compare them to pickles, gummy bears and sea cu- cumbers. They are the Borg of the ocean, one researcher suggested, referencing characters from the “Star Trek” TV show. They look like “Star Wars” creatures, a biolo- gist said. They are called pyrosomes, and they are everywhere. In all his decades doing survey and research work off the coast, Richard Brodeur, research fishery biologist with the National Ocean- ic and Atmospheric Administration, has never encountered pyrosomes in these kinds of numbers, or really at all. He knew about them, had seen them down in California, but never off the Oregon Coast. Then, “starting in 2014, we start- ed seeing a few of them,” he said. In 2015 and 2016, he saw a few more. This spring, on a survey cruise, they pulled up 60,000 pyrosomes in a five-minute tow. Fire body SUBMITTED PHOTO Pyrosomes can be massive. Some can glow. “This year,” Brodeur said, “we must be setting all sorts of records.” ‘All you see’ Sam Zeman, an Oregon State University research associate, said as the survey boats went farther away from shore, they saw bigger and big- ger pyrosomes, some roughly 2 feet long. One researcher fixed a GoPro camera to a net and dropped it over the side. It was a glimpse into a fa- miliar world that had become very odd. They saw pyrosomes down to a depth of 100 meters, as far as their equipment could go. “Watching that footage was ee- rie,” said Jennifer Fisher, a research assistant with Oregon State’s Coop- erative Institute for Marine Resourc- es Studies that work closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who was on a sur- vey cruise in May. There’s blue wa- ter in all directions, shaded turquoise to dark cerulean, “and all you see is pyrosomes.” They seem to hang Though it looks like a single creature, a pyrosome is made up of individual clones. Hence the Borg reference, though in the case of the pyrosome, the organism is physically linked unlike the TV characters who are mentally connected. A single py- rosome might contain hundreds, if not thousands of individual animals, said Caren Braby, marine resources program manager with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. They don’t sting and they can’t bite. They are essentially hollow tubes, filter feeders, and very little is known about them. They are chordates, Braby said, lacking actual vertebrae — bones that form the backbone — but with the be- ginning of a spinal chord, Braby said. If you were to compare an octopus or a pyrosome to people, “we’d be more closely related to a pyrosome.” Elsewhere, pyrosomes can be massive and even display biolumi- nescence. They glow. This is likely how they got the name “pyrosome,” a combination of the Greek words “pyro” and “soma”: fire body. The organisms off Oregon aren’t quite so magical, possibly because they aren’t consuming the right bacteria, one re- searcher theorized. Salmon trollers from Newport to Alaska reported pyrosomes ending up on the end of their hooks. In fisheries, like the pink shrimp fishery where the gear itself is designed to exclude oth- er fish, pyrosomes are the right size and shape to jam up the works. Shrimper Steve Davis, who runs several boats out of Warrenton, said the pyrosomes can be so thick on the gear that nothing else can get past them. At the very least, they make it so he’s catching less than he should be. “There’s just so many of them, it’s hard to pick them out,” he said. They range from the size of a pinkie finger to almost a foot long, and they seem to float in packs. If a boat is unlucky enough to hit a patch of them, “you go somewhere else and hope that they’re not that thick,” Davis said. To learn more about pyro- somes and watch a video of them in the water visit: http://bit.ly/2sVJqnW Contest represents hometown tradition New tax to fund affordable housing Tax from Page 1A Affordable Housing Fund The city’s budget commit- tee approved next fiscal year’s budget, but not without heat- ed debate over the merits of the newly added Affordable Housing Fund. The budget was approved 9-1, with the ‘no’ vote coming Vetter. Because of the increase in the lodging tax from 7 to 8 per- cent in 2016, the budget grew 4.7 percent, City Manager Brant Kucera said. The bud- get includes four major water and wastewater improvement projects, a newly funded posi- tion for an in-house building official to evaluate building codes and procedure and ad- ditional funding for updated radio technology for police. But one of the most signif- icant changes to the budget landscape is the Affordable Housing Fund. The fund’s purpose in this budget cycle is to build five affordable homes in the RV Resort on Elk Land Road and Haskell Lane, and $92,000 of that fund is made up from excise tax revenue. The park was identified as a potential site in a report compiled by the affordable housing task force last year, citing the fact the city owned the land, as well as relatively low startup costs as benefits. Each house would be around 400 square feet and mobile, Kucera said. With rent anticipated to be $600 to $800 a month, the homes would be intended for single and working-class people who earn about $15 an hour. Different approaches While the $429,740 fund has remained in the budget, some members of the com- mittee took issue with the homes relying on a bank loan, rents and construction excise taxes tied to a building econ- omy — all sources of income the committee interpreted as either too risky or unfair to business. “I don’t think it’s good for us to charge such a tiny group of people for something that won’t make that much mon- ey,” Vetter said in reference to excise taxes. During a May budget meeting, Kucera argued that taking out loans to buy a home is standard procedure, and that the plan is low risk given that the city already owns the land and could sell the units if the program does not succeed. “Maybe there is some assumption of cost,” budget committee member Carolyn Propst said, “but if you don’t start with a low-risk project then how do you get started?” But with Kucera leaving as city manager at the end of the month, how this project will roll out isn’t set in stone. Tentatively, implementation will be pushed from summer until fall, Kucera said, where it will be under the direction of a new city manager. NORTH COAST DOOR CO. Serving the North Oregon Coast for Over 28 Years Pre-Hung Doors • Garage Door Sales Installation • Complete Trim Packages Stair Parts • Door Hardware R.J. & Bonnie Wynia CCB #214816 • 1303 Front Street • Tillamook, OR PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER Sandcastle from Page 1A — has served in roles similar to Nelson’s over many years. As a judge, participant and event organizer, he said he noticed the cultural vibe ebb and flow. After master artists started taking more interest in the contest in the mid-1990s, he said the level of compe- tition started to rise, taking away some of that iconic fam- ily feel. “I think Debbie’s engage- ment with the town and lead- ership has helped make it feel like a hometown event again,” he said. For Nelson, that passion comes from a place of protect- ing the feeling of a hometown tradition. In her lifetime, she has helped judge, facilitate plots for competitors, and organize the dozens of volunteers it takes to pull off the events. “I really love the camara- derie of getting the job done. It’s such a satisfying mo- ment,” she said. “I’ve lived here all my life. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a way to repre- sent hometown tradition, and I’ve decided (the Sandcastle Contest) is the tradition I’ve decided to put my time into.” MOONLIGHT KARAOKE MOBILE KARAOKE WITH KJ/DJ • Weddings • Receptions • Reunions • Birthdays • Anniversary Parties • Private Parties • Entertainments • Corporate Events 971.386.7369 Tom.w.Cozart@gmail.com 503-842-5300 “TO-GO” Orders Welcome 156 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach 503.436.9551 Owned and Operated by the Cleary Family This year’s contest will begin 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17. For more information on the contest, contact the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce at 503-436-2623. Dining on the North Coast NORMA’S SEAFOOD & STEAK 20 N. Columbia, Seaside 503-738-4331 Since 1976 discriminating diners have sought out this Seaside landmark. There’s a chalkboard fresh catchlist, exclusively natural Angus beef and a great regional wine list as well as local microbrews. From Steak & Lobster to Fish & Chips (and Chowder to die for) - this is worth the drive! 11am-10pm daily. Visit www.normasseaside.com 223 S Hemlock 503-436-2851 7AM - 3PM Daily From hashbrown potatoes ground fresh daily and award-winning sourdough pancakes to homemade soups and clam chowder, you’ll find delicious family friendly dining at the Pig ‘N Pancake. Over 35 breakfast varieties and a complete lunch menu, too. Our dining area overlooks a beautiful wetland area and downtown Cannon Beach. Experience Family Dining in a Relaxed & Friendly Environment We have a fabulous patio where you can enjoy the weather and your meal. If you go PIG ‘N PANCAKE THE COASTER THEATRE PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS northcoastdoorco@hotmail.com • www.northcoastdoorco.com Serving Seafood, Pizza, Sandwiches, Espressos, Beer, Wine, Ice Cream and our Homemade Desserts SUBMITTED PHOTO A row of sandcastles at a previous contest. JUNE 16 - SEPT. 2, 2017 JUNE 23 - SEPT. 3, 2017 PERFORMANCES BEGIN AT 7:30 P.M. PERFORMANCES BEGIN AT 7:30 P.M. TICKETS: $20 OR $25 TICKETS: $20 OR $25 Sponsored by The Ocean Lodge, Inn at Cannon Beach, Lodges at Cannon Beach and Candi & Jon Holzgrafe Sponsored by The Ocean Lodge, Inn at Cannon Beach, Lodges at Cannon Beach, Probuild/Milgard and Leland E.G. Larson Tickets6 503-436-1242 or coastertheatre.com 108 N Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR TO PLACE YOUR AD HERE! 25 ONLY $ per issue Seaside Office: 503-738-5561 Astoria Office: 503-325-3211