Submarine is Art Imitating Life

The photo shows an encrusted, model submarine on display. It certainly appears to be encrusted with these:

Monster barnacles and invasive green mussels, two dreaded sea creatures known for their destructive habits, pose a threat to coastal structures and marine ecology. The invasive green mussels native to Southeast Asia first appeared on Florida's Atlantic coast in 2002. The pest is hazardous to native shellfish and fouls boat hulls. The mussels migrated to South Carolina coastal waters earlier this fall.

"Megabalanus coccopoma" -- the largest barnacle ever found in state waters -- appeared at a marina in the Folly River near Charleston. Two months earlier, the Asian green mussel, another non-native invasive species, was discovered in the same location. "They're huge," Knott said. "We're talking 50, maybe 100 times the biomass of native barnacles. These things could conceivably cause huge problems." Megabalanus, native to the West Coast from southern California to South America, has been known to sink offshore navigational buoys, slow down boats and clog coastal intake pipes. Full story here.

The model submarine is fiberglass, weighs less than 60 lbs, and is just over 5-feet in length. The photo was taken for The Milford, Connecticut Fine Arts Council circa 2000.