Story highlights Five Japanese beakfish survive 5,000-mile journey to U.S.

Containment hold in fishing boat's stern provided habitat

One to go on display at aquarium; other four to be dissected

Most outrageous fish tales begin with an arching arm gesture and "a fish this big" -- but this one starts with "fish that traveled this far."

Just over two years after the Japan earthquake and tsunami, researchers made a startling discovery in a 20-foot-long Japanese fishing vessel that washed ashore last month near Long Beach, Washington: five tropical fish, alive and well.

They are called striped beakfish, and they are native to warmer waters near Japan, China and the Korean Peninsula.

The five stowaways, roughly the size of your palm, lived in a cozy spot at the back of the boat.

A 20- to 30-gallon containment hold in the boat's stern lost its cover, and that part of the boat was submerged as the vessel drifted in the ocean, said Allen Pleus, a scientist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. That "created like a cave they could go in and out of," Pleus said.

Pleus said most debris out in the ocean attracts fish, so it's not surprising these fish found a home in the debris. But it is surprising they survived the nearly 5,000-mile journey.

"It's very rare that you'd see something like this," Pleus said. "Obviously, fish are very robust and we are learning this on all of the species that come across."

When researchers first explored the boat, they saw just one of the fish in the holding tank. They collected it in a bucket and took it to Long Beach City Hall.

Someone at City Hall called the Seaside Aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, to come and get it. Fish and Wildlife personnel found three more in the tank's murky water. Finally the boat was towed to a state yard, where the fifth fish came swimming up to Pleus.

The one that went to the aquarium will live out its life there. General Manager Keith Chandler says it'll go on display Saturday.

"He is a pretty cool fish, and I just wonder if there are more out there," he said.

The other four had the honor of contributing to research at Oregon State University, where researchers will dissect them learn their ages and what they've been eating.

Sea anemones, scallops, crabs, worms and sea cucumbers that hitched a ride on the same boat also will be studied.