Latest news with #MarineMammalCareCenter
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Sea lions released back into Pacific Ocean as toxic algal blooms move out of Southern California
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Scripps scientists have confirmed that the harmful algal blooms (HABs) that have been responsible for sickening hundreds of marine mammals in the Pacific Ocean along the California coast this spring have moved out of the area, and rescue organizations in Southern California have been busy releasing the last of the rehabilitated sea lions. Scientists with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego report the harmful algal blooms (HABs) that produce domoic acid — which accumulates in fish and shellfish, sickening sea lions, dolphins and birds that eat them, and overwhelming local rescue organizations — are gone. California sea lions are getting sick, but what's causing it? SeaWorld San Diego Rescue teams this past spring were getting upwards of 100 calls per day for sea life in need of help as a result of the toxic algal blooms. According to the County of Los Angeles, four injured sea lion pups — Brownie, Sprinkles, Peachick and Spiderling — that were rehabilitated and cared for by the Marine Mammal Care Center, were recently released at Venice Beach with help from the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division and marine mammal experts. In San Diego, the SeaWorld San Diego Rescue team said the last seal lion suffering from domoic acid poisoning, and rehabilitated at SeaWorld, was returned to the Pacific Ocean on May 30. Sick sea lion rescued from busy road near Carlsbad beaches VIDEO: SeaWorld San Diego releases rescued and rehabilitated sea lions back into ocean Scripps reports that although the HABs are not in Southern California anymore, they did detect some presence around Santa Cruz in late May. NASA launches revolutionary PACE satellite to study Earth's oceans, changing climate From mid-February to mid-May, SeaWorld San Diego reports its Animal Rescue Team rescued 69 sea lions and 60 birds suffering from domoic acid symptoms. Rescue teams were overwhelmed by cases this year, but say marine rescue calls have dropped over the last three weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Lethal algae bloom is over, but sickened marine mammals aren't safe yet
It was one of the largest, longest and most lethal harmful algae blooms in Southern California's recorded history, claiming the lives of hundreds of dolphins and sea lions between Baja California and the Central Coast. And now, finally, it's over. Levels of toxic algae species in Southern California coastal waters have declined in recent weeks below thresholds that pose a threat to marine wildlife, according to the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, or SCCOOS, which monitors algae blooms. lthough this provides a much-needed respite for marine mammals and the people working to save them from neurotoxin poisoning, scientists warned that the coastal ecosystem is in the clear yet. Just as January's firestorms struck well outside Southern California's typical fire season, this explosion of harmful algae appeared earlier in the year than have previous blooms. Further outbreaks are still possible before the year is up, said Dave Bader, a marine biologist and the chief operations and education officer for the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. 'It's definitely over, but we still have the work of rehabilitating the [animals] that we have saved,' Bader said Wednesday. 'And we're not out of the woods with this year at all.' Bader was among a group of ocean specialists who gathered at the AltaSea complex at the Port of Los Angeles to brief Mayor Karen Bass on the coastal effects of January's fires. That disaster didn't cause the algae blooms. This is the fourth consecutive year such outbreaks have occurred along the Southern California coast, fueled by an upwelling of nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean. Yet multiple research teams are currently investigating whether the surge of additional runoff into the sea resulting from the firestorms may have contributed to the recent bloom's intensity. No data on the subject are available yet. But given the relationship between nutrients and harmful algae species, Mark Gold of the Natural Resources Defense Council said he would not be surprised if the fires played a role in this year's severity. 'As a scientist who's been looking at impacts of pollution on the ocean for my whole career, … one would expect that [fire runoff] is also having impacts on harmful algal blooms, from the standpoint of the intensity of the blooms, the scope, the scale, etc.,' said Gold, the organization's director of water scarcity solutions. 'We'll find that out when all this analysis and research is completed.' In terms of animal mortality, this year's bloom was the worst since 2015-16 outbreak that killed thousands of animals between Alaska and Baja California, said SCCOOS director Clarissa Anderson of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Four different algae species were present this year. The two most dangerous produce powerful neurotoxins that accumulate in the marine food chain: Alexandrium catenella, which produces saxitoxin, and Pseudo-nitzschia australis, which produces domoic acid. The toxins accumulate in filter-feeding fish, and then poison larger mammals who gobble up the fish in mass quantities. (This is why the blooms don't pose the same health risks to humans — very few people eat up to 40 pounds of fish straight from the sea each day.) Beginning in February, hundreds of dolphins and sea lions started washing up on California beaches, either dead or suffering neurotoxin poisoning symptoms such as aggression, lethargy and seizures. A minke whale in Long Beach Harbor and a gray whale that stranded in Huntington Beach also succumbed to the outbreak. Scientists believe countless more animals died at sea. The outbreak was more lethal than those in recent years, Bader said, and veterinarians were able to save fewer animals than they have in the past. Researchers are still grappling with the catastrophe's full impact on marine mammal species. The outbreak was particularly deadly for breeding females. California sea lions typically give birth in June after an 11-month gestation. At the blooms' peak, 'they were actively feeding for two,' Bader said. Domoic acid crosses the placenta. None of the pregnant animals the center rescued delivered live babies, he said. 'We don't really know what the environmental impact, long term, is of [blooms] four years in a row, right during breeding season,' Bader said. 'The full impact of this is going to be hard to know, especially at a time when research budgets are being cut.' As climate change has shifted the timing and intensity of the strong wind events that drive upwellings, 'we're coming into a future where we unfortunately have to expect we'll see these events with recurring frequency,' Bader told Bass at the roundtable. 'The events that drove the fires are the events that drove the upwelling.' This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Lethal algae bloom is over, but sickened marine mammals aren't safe yet
It was one of the largest, longest and most lethal harmful algae blooms in Southern California's recorded history, claiming the lives of hundreds of dolphins and sea lions between Baja California and the Central Coast. And now, finally, it's over. Levels of toxic algae species in Southern California coastal waters have declined in recent weeks below thresholds that pose a threat to marine wildlife, according to the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, or SCCOOS, which monitors algae blooms. lthough this provides a much-needed respite for marine mammals and the people working to save them from neurotoxin poisoning, scientists warned that the coastal ecosystem is in the clear yet. Just as January's firestorms struck well outside Southern California's typical fire season, this explosion of harmful algae appeared earlier in the year than have previous blooms. Further outbreaks are still possible before the year is up, said Dave Bader, a marine biologist and the chief operations and education officer for the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. 'It's definitely over, but we still have the work of rehabilitating the [animals] that we have saved,' Bader said Wednesday. 'And we're not out of the woods with this year at all.' Bader was among a group of ocean specialists who gathered at the AltaSea complex at the Port of Los Angeles to brief Mayor Karen Bass on the coastal effects of January's fires. That disaster didn't cause the algae blooms. This is the fourth consecutive year such outbreaks have occurred along the Southern California coast, fueled by an upwelling of nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean. Yet multiple research teams are currently investigating whether the surge of additional runoff into the sea resulting from the firestorms may have contributed to the recent bloom's intensity. No data on the subject are available yet. But given the relationship between nutrients and harmful algae species, Mark Gold of the Natural Resources Defense Council said he would not be surprised if the fires played a role in this year's severity. 'As a scientist who's been looking at impacts of pollution on the ocean for my whole career, … one would expect that [fire runoff] is also having impacts on harmful algal blooms, from the standpoint of the intensity of the blooms, the scope, the scale, etc.,' said Gold, the organization's director of water scarcity solutions. 'We'll find that out when all this analysis and research is completed.' In terms of animal mortality, this year's bloom was the worst since 2015-16 outbreak that killed thousands of animals between Alaska and Baja California, said SCCOOS director Clarissa Anderson of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Four different algae species were present this year. The two most dangerous produce powerful neurotoxins that accumulate in the marine food chain: Alexandrium catenella, which produces saxitoxin, and Pseudo-nitzschia australis, which produces domoic acid. The toxins accumulate in filter-feeding fish, and then poison larger mammals who gobble up the fish in mass quantities. (This is why the blooms don't pose the same health risks to humans — very few people eat up to 40 pounds of fish straight from the sea each day.) Beginning in February, hundreds of dolphins and sea lions started washing up on California beaches, either dead or suffering neurotoxin poisoning symptoms such as aggression, lethargy and seizures. A minke whale in Long Beach Harbor and a gray whale that stranded in Huntington Beach also succumbed to the outbreak. Scientists believe countless more animals died at sea. The outbreak was more lethal than those in recent years, Bader said, and veterinarians were able to save fewer animals than they have in the past. Researchers are still grappling with the catastrophe's full impact on marine mammal species. The outbreak was particularly deadly for breeding females. California sea lions typically give birth in June after an 11-month gestation. At the blooms' peak, 'they were actively feeding for two,' Bader said. Domoic acid crosses the placenta. None of the pregnant animals the center rescued delivered live babies, he said. 'We don't really know what the environmental impact, long term, is of [blooms] four years in a row, right during breeding season,' Bader said. 'The full impact of this is going to be hard to know, especially at a time when research budgets are being cut.' As climate change has shifted the timing and intensity of the strong wind events that drive upwellings, 'we're coming into a future where we unfortunately have to expect we'll see these events with recurring frequency,' Bader told Bass at the roundtable. 'The events that drove the fires are the events that drove the upwelling.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Watch: Sea lion pups return to wild in Venice Beach
Animal advocates gathered in Venice Beach on Wednesday to celebrate the release of four sea lion pups back into the wild. Upon their release, the young marine mammals made their way toward freedom cautiously at first, though they quickly spotted the ocean and made their way into the Pacific waves. A Marine Mammal Care Center volunteer named Kayla told KTLA's Erin Myers that two of the youngsters had sustained shark bites, while the other two were 'malnourished and super skinny.' 'It's really nice seeing them get their weight back, and [one of the pups named] Spiderling especially had a really deep wound, so seeing her recover is really good,' Kayla said. These four pups came to the center amid a crisis in Southern California's ocean waters, as many sea creatures had been sickened by domoic acid, which is produced by algae blooms. Kayla noted that they typically get about 2,000 calls for service each year, but due to this recent bloom, they've received 4,000 already this year. That bloom began in February, and though the San Pedro-based MMCC said the danger has largely passed as of last month, algae blooms are expected to return, especially as climate change makes the oceans more acidic, conditions under which algae thrive. The MMCC has partnered with L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to better prepare for the next algae bloom. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
6 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Officials in Southern California celebrate end of domoic acid outbreak with release of sea lion pups back into water
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and members from the Marine Mammal Care Center LA celebrated the end of the longest toxic domoic acid outbreak with the release of sea lion pups back into the wild in Venice on Wednesday. Although the sea lions being released did not suffer from domoic acid, John Warner, CEO at the Marine Mammal Care Center, said they were being returned to safer waters. Warner explained that domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin that is produced by certain types of algae, but this year's levels and length of time were significantly long. Wildlife officials say algae blooms usually begin in June, but this year's bloom spread a few months early, causing thousands of sea lions, dolphins, pelicans and whales to experience seizures or die. Over the first four months of the year, Warner said the care center fielded over 8,000 calls to their hotlines, responded to more than 1,000 animals on the beach and rescued and treated over 500 animals. "Over the past several months, Southern California, with LA County being the epicenter, has experienced the worst stranding event due to domoic acid toxicosis that we've ever had before, beating the record in 2023," Warner said. Horvath said during the domoic acid event, the county was committed to investing in the resources that were helping support animals. She introduced a motion which was unanimously approved by the board, which issued a $100,000 purchase order to the MMCC to support emergency medical care, launch a public education campaign and develop a long-term funding strategy for future events. "This motion delivers critical support to the frontline responders rescuing and caring for these animals, while also helping us prepare for a future where these events will be more frequent and more severe due to climate change," Horvath said. "We must act urgently and continue to invest in solutions to protect both public health and our coastal ecosystem." On Wednesday afternoon, Biologist Dave Bader said recent samples of ocean water do not show signs of the algae that create the toxic domoic acid. Bader and his team have triaged and treated thousands of animals over the past three months from Ventura to Orange County. Bader blamed humans for creating the crisis and said they are the ones responsible for ultimately solving it. In mid-April, wildfire and ocean experts determined domoic acid was the cause of death of at least two whales, including a juvenile humpback and minke. The humpback was stranded in Huntington Beach on Jan. 24 and the other lingered in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor on April 6. Humpback and minke whales, along with other marine mammals, feed on small schooling fish, like sardines and anchovies, which are known to accumulate domoic acid. Warner said it is important for the public to do everything it can to support marine life. Some ways people can help are by donating supplies or funds, volunteering and adopting a patient.
