‘Just bodies of animals everywhere’: Toxic algae bloom taking a toll on California marine life

One by one the four California sea lions slid out of their crates and into the ocean As the SeaWorld San Diego rescue boat bobbed nearby one of the pinnipeds dove deep and then popped his head out of the water his mouth full of what may have been a squid SeaWorld s rescue curator Jeni Smith smiled We had a pep talk she revealed and I reported Don t eat those toxic fish OK Get the good fish Related Articles Man arrested on suspicion of smuggling exotic parakeets inside cowboy boots across California-Mexico perimeter Scientists once thought only humans could bob to music Ronan the California sea lion helped prove them wrong An ugly dead fish missing one eyeball is drawing crowds at California aquarium San Jose hilltop ranch property sells for million in open space deal Am I helping birds by putting out dryer lint Yarn Dog hair Wednesday s return to the wild by the four sea lions marked a small preeminence in the battle against a toxic algae bloom that has sickened and killed hundreds of animals from San Luis Obispo to San Diego in up-to-date months Three of the four issued sea lions had been treated for suspected domoic acid poisoning including one seen having seizures a trademark symptom of the neurotoxin Up and down the coast sea birds sea lions dolphins and even whales have fallen victim to the bloom starting in late February One modern Sunday dead dolphins were collected from San Diego-area beaches There were so plenty of bodies that marine biologists ran out of refrigerator space at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration s Marine Fisheries Science Center and turned to SeaWorld which stored eight of them Necropsies were done on the animals to try to determine what killed them with samples sent to a Seattle lab to be analyzed Administrators announced last month that out of dolphins tested at that point established high levels of domoic acid Jeni Smith left curator at SeaWorld Rescue Center watches as a sea lion is lowered onto a boat before being issued on Wednesday Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune It is kind of the first time I ve seen in San Diego County where there is just bodies of animals everywhere Smith recalled in an interview last week We were driving to rescue a California sea lion in Carlsbad and we passed by a pelican that had already passed We are getting calls often and we are trying to take note of where the deceased animals are and passing that info along to Southwest Fisheries But there are just so plenty of This is the fourth year in a row there s been essential blooming of Pseudo-nitzschia off the coast of California It creates domoic acid a neurotoxin that accumulates in small fish like sardines and anchovies which are then eaten by marine mammals and birds Certain sea lions suffering from high levels of domoic acid have acted aggressively toward swimmers and surfers near them in the water The neurotoxin causes brain and heart damage Tests certified high levels of the toxin in a humpback whale that stranded in Huntington Beach in January and in a minke whale that died in Long Beach Harbor in April Although rescuers continue to scramble to help ailing animals there are signs the dilemma may be easing This week scientists communicated seeing a substantial decline in the algae at selected monitoring spots along the coast an indication the bloom might be dissipating SeaWorld personnel noted Tuesday was the first day since the outbreak began that its rescue company went a whole day without getting a call about an animal with suspected domoic acid poisoning NOAA officers say reports of freshly dead dolphins also have slowed An area treating pelicans mostly for domoic acid poisoning on Wednesday at SeaWorld which is rehabilitating pelicans Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune SeaWorld rescuers were back at it Wednesday though responding to two animals having seizures I don t think we are utterly done with this but hopefully we are at a spot where we can catch our breath Smith commented The marine park has treated more than sea lions releasing after they recovered As of Thursday it had treated birds releasing While exact counts lag a bit administrators believe nearly sea lions and more than dolphins have stranded since the bloom began While particular pinnipeds have been successfully treated and disclosed domoic acid poisoning is almost reliably fatal for dolphins Jeni Smith left curator at SeaWorld Rescue Center left and Bianca Torrico associate zoological specialist assist in lowering a sea lion onto a boat on Wednesday Ana Ramirez The San Diego Union-Tribune So far this is the largest and majority of intense algal bloom since I ve been here stated Justin Viezbicke the California stranding configuration coordinator who has worked for NOAA for around years All of our facilities are really full and the staff and the helpers have been going for months now While SeaWorld responds to sick or injured animals and rescues those that have a chance of recovering NOAA Southwest Fisheries investigates dead stranded marine mammals SeaWorld has a -member rescue gang including full- and part-time employees and a bullpen of former staffers called in when needed The marine park is trying to hire more rescue staff Scientists who survey oceans say that Pseudo-nitzschia isn t the only harmful algae that s flourishing Two others are blooming including Alexandrium which creates saxitoxin and causes paralytic shellfish poisoning that can be harmful to marine mammals and humans and Akashiwo sanguinea which can cause hypothermia in sea birds In April state healthcare leaders began to warn the citizens not to consume sport-harvested bivalve shellfish in San Diego County after PSP toxins and domoic acid were detected in mussels An annual statewide quarantine on mussels went into effect May The advisory also covers sport-harvested clams scallops and oysters in San Diego Orange Los Angeles Ventura and Santa Barbara counties The advisories do not apply to commercially sold shellfish because that sector is subject to frequent mandatory testing to monitor for toxins state agents say Paralytic shellfish poisoning affects the nervous system and can lead to a loss of balance slurred speech and difficulty in swallowing Severe poisonings can cause paralysis and death from asphyxiation Clarissa Anderson a biological oceanographer and harmful algal bloom expert at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego revealed selected animals are testing positive for domoic acid and for PSP which have various overlapping features She explained there s no way to know how several animals have acute saxitoxin poisoning because those stricken may become paralyzed and drown before making it to shore Anderson noted latest algae blooms were fueled by La Ni a weather patterns that brought colder nutrient-rich waters to the surface A ribbon of cold water formed in December and was still in place in April extending about miles off the shoreline This is the longest cold stretch that we ve had in that swath of the ocean since and which was another major La Ni a Anderson revealed For algal blooms to end there demands to be certain kind of disruption that will turn off the runaway train she explained and allow other organisms to thrive You need chosen kind of a change in the system whether that s nutrients temperature or light or a combination of the three to kind of kick out the winners right now and get specific others that are less harmful as the winners she revealed