In browsing through the Long Beach Peninsula Friends of Facebook page recently, it seemed as though there were an unusual number of glass fishing floats turning up. But where did they come from?

An article in the weekly South Beach Bulletin in Westport, Washington, explains it all (bit.ly/floatsgone). As part of the 57th annual Grayland Driftwood Show, which was April 6 and 7, 450 glass floats with numbers etched in them, initially collected after the tsunami, were set loose along the coast in late March/early April. Famed oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer (flotsametrics.com) even helped plan the timing and release strategy.

If, by chance, you find one, please report where and when you found it to the Westport Maritime Museum, as they’d like to know. Don’t worry, though, it’s still finders keepers.