09-05-2025
Toxic algae threat eases along Southern California coastline
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Southern California's coastline may finally be seeing relief as domoic acid—the toxin recently devastating marine life—begins to subside.
The rescue team at SeaWorld San Diego is finally starting to catch their breath after weeks of responding to calls about sick or disoriented sea animals at some of our local beach communities.
'They're eating fish, they're gaining weight, we haven't seen signs of seizures,' said Jeni Smith, rescue program curator at SeaWorld San Diego.
The road to recovery looks good for these sea lions thanks to Smith and her team at SeaWorld.
They're getting treatment for domoic acid poisoning caused by a toxic algae bloom devastating the Southern California coast this year.
Once marine mammals are rescued, recovery times can vary.
'Six to eight weeks is the general time that it takes to rehabilitate a California sea lion, but for some of these domoic acid patients, it has been a little bit sooner,' Smith said.
Dr. Clarissa Anderson, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System Director at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, says climate patterns drive the toxic algae blooms.
'This has been a really cold La Niña and it has been a very long event of cold water,' Anderson said.
That environment fuels plankton which produce the harmful toxin. But experts are tracking a change in ocean conditions.
'They're not really great for most plankton to grow right now so we're seeing everything kind of going down simultaneously and so with that the toxins go down,' Anderson said.
Since calls started flooding the phone lines at the end of February, SeaWorld has rescued over 60 sea lions, over 60 seabirds and several dolphins.
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center reports more than 50 dead dolphins have been recovered from San Diego beaches in recent months.
'We brought them back to SeaWorld and performed animal necropsies on them. There's always something we can learn from every single animal,' Smith said.
While rescue crews are seeing fewer sick animals coming in lately, they're fully prepared to respond.
And with health restored, these flippers will soon be waving goodbye to their rescuers.
'We are starting to formulate a list of animals that are ready for the next return trip,' Smith said.
See a sea lion in trouble? Stay back and call SeaWorld Rescue at 1-800-541-SEAL. They'll take it from there.
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