Fabien Cousteau's Insight on Impact of Japan Tsunami Debris Washing Ashore on US's Pacific Coast

Tons of debris from last year's devastating tsunami in Japan has begun washing ashore ... in Oregon. The latest is a dock that floated about 5,000 miles before coming adrift on an Oregon beach, and it's raising concerns among experts that more debris is on the way.

Fabien Cousteau -- grandson of Jacques Cousteau and a famed oceanographer in his own right -- stopped by Fox today to offer his expertise, saying that what's causing worry is more what may be attached to the debris than the actual debris itself.

"It can bring a few hitchikers along ... if

you look at the Caribbean, for example, and the lionfish epidemic - it's a similar potential problem we could have on the Pacific coast."

However, Cousteau says there's not much that can be done if such an invasion were to occur. "I don't think we can do much once we open the bottle and the genie's come out ... unfortunately with invasive species, once they're let out into the wild they have a tendency to take over."

Cousteau also said it could be years before debris from the tsunami stops coming ashore. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.