What are the brown blobs washed up all over the beach that smell so bad?
Class Ascidiacea The tunicates. This class includes commonly known creatures such as sea squirts and sea pork. Who would believe that these large, fleshly blobs resembling a sponge for all practical apearances, are one of the most highly evolved of all marine invertebrates? In their adult form they are little more than a water pump, pumping water in through their vascular system, extracting nutrients and pumping the water out. Occasionally, after a severe cold front or storm event, these may become dislodged from offshore hardbottom and wash up on the beach, causing an upleasant odor as they decompose. They usually are washed back offshore within a few tides.
