Did I get this from NOAA or The Onion?
For the fourth consecutive year, federal and university researchers have surveyed two areas on Georges Bank where an invasive colonial sea squirt continues to thrive on the gravel bottom. The area of seabed covered by the colonies has doubled at 75 percent of the sites observed in both 2005 and 2006. Greater density of colonies observed during the survey is evidence that the infestation is persistent, and not a short-lived phenomenon. But scientists found no colonies in nearby Canadian waters, indicating they have not spread eastward.
Scientists remain concerned that the infestation could threaten important fisheries in the region. Sea squirt mats could prevent fish from feeding on worms and crustaceans that live in and on the gravel bottom, reduce the shelter required for these species to avoid predators, and limit the space available for settlement of larvae of sea scallops and other species. The invasive squirts are also a nuisance to the aquaculture industry, overgrowing shellfish in New England coastal waters.
Answer: here.
