Crisis in the waters: Toxic algae overwhelms San Diego rescuers as marine life suffers

By Dani Miskell

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    SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A devastating toxic algae bloom along the Southern California coast is causing a crisis for marine wildlife, with SeaWorld’s rescue teams working around the clock to respond to animals in distress.

SeaWorld in San Diego reports receiving approximately 100 calls and emails daily for animal rescues, primarily concerning marine mammals and birds poisoned by the toxic bloom.

One phonecall that came in this week was from Carlsbad resident Linda Cooper.

Cooper said she spotted a sick sea lion on Easter Sunday outside her beach home.

“She was weeping, she seemed a little disoriented, she was foaming at the mouth,” Cooper said.

Cooper did everything she could to help the distressed sea lion, hydrating and comforting it for three days before SeaWorld rescue teams came.

“The first thing that was their priority was to get her to the facility, get her rehabbed immediately, put intravenous fluids in her,” Cooper explained. “She was very dehydrated, if you can imagine, being there for three days.”

This isn’t an isolated incident.

Since late February, there have been numerous reports of sea lions exhibiting unusual behavior, sometimes even displaying aggressive tendencies.

“I’m going to say we’re at about 1200 mammals total that have stranded between about San Luis Obispo and San Diego, and here in San Diego we’re really seeing an uptick in the number of dolphins that are stranding,” Dr. Clarissa Anderson, Director at Scripps Oceanography said.

The source of the problem has been identified as natural algae in the ocean producing dangerous toxins.

“It’s a toxin called domoic acid,” Anderson said. “We also have another toxin out there right now, another neurotoxin called Saxitoxin.”

Anderson has been researching the toxic algae and their effect on wildlife. The algae that produce toxins are entering the fish, mainly anchovies, which sea lions frequently eat. The birds, mainly pelicans, and dolphins also consume the algae, and once it is in their system, it causes neurological stress to the animals. Anderson said it can be compared to the way Alzheimer’s makes patients get easily irritated and snap.

This would explain some of the recent viral videos of the sea lions near swimmers and surfers.

“They’re not doing it to be malicious, but it is a consequence of their physiological stress response,” Anderson said. “This is actually four years in a row now that we’ve seen this, and they seem to be getting progressively worse.”

Anderson’s observations of the current bloom offer little hope for immediate relief.

“I am seeing robust cells of this toxogenic organism growing very healthy,” Anderson said. “There’s probably no end in sight in the next week or two.”

Since late February, SeaWorld’s rescue efforts have been extensive:

57 California sea lions rescued (14 returned to the ocean) 43 birds taken in for care, 36 of them pelicans (8 released) 14 dolphins rescued 8 transfers

Sadly, rehabilitation isn’t always possible.

Many sea lions arrive at rescue facilities too severely affected by the neurotoxins. SeaWorld said the sea lions have a mortality rate at 50%, and NOAA is reporting that the dolphins have close to a 100% mortality rate.

“They are just so overcome by this neurotoxin that there is no real way to rehabilitate them,” Anderson said. “And so the only humane thing to do is to euthanize.”

Scripps Oceanography continues to work closely with SeaWorld to monitor the situation and support rescue efforts as the toxic bloom persists along the coastline.

When asked if the algae can be killed to prevent its impact on the marine and fish wildlife, Anderson said it would be impossible.

“With a bloom like this that is multiple plankton types and spans from Bodega Bay to Baja, it would be impossible to scale up and to apply in a way that doesn’t have dramatic cascading impacts on the ecosystem,” Anderson said.

Health officials remind beachgoers to maintain a safe distance from marine mammals on the shore, as they may be ill and potentially pose a danger.

Anyone spotting a distressed marine animal should contact SeaWorld’s rescue hotline or a local rescue center.

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