Sick marine mammals continue to show up on Central Coast beaches
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - There are hundreds of calls coming in to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) about sick or injured marine mammals on the Central Coast.
The pace picked up in mid-August. Nearly all are connected to a Domoic acid in the waters from a naturally occurring toxin. That is linked to an ocean plant bloom and it's transferred from smaller fish to the larger marine mammals.
It affects the brain and heart. Often the animal looks confused or is shaking on the beach, sometimes swaying back and forth in an unusual manner.
The public has been responsive with calls for help through CIMWI, the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol and California State Parks.
At times special signs are put up to allow the animal to recover on the beach without the public's interference.
Often volunteers are on the scene quickly to do an assessment and sometimes a recovery.
Many marine mammals with the illness get well and are released back in their habitat.
Wednesday morning a rescue took place on West Beach in Santa Barbara.
The sea lion had been spotted off and on for three days but was elusive.
It was not sick from the acid, but had a terrible exposed back injury. It was not clear what the cause was, and at times the Harbor Patrol says the wound could be from a passing boat. CIMWI says "the rescued subadult female California sea lion suffering traumatic injuries which upon evaluation appear to be from a killer whale bite that is at least a few days old."
Two volunteers were able to net the sea lion and sedate it.
CIMWI volunteer Ken Hughes said, he is on many calls and the Domoic acid issue has been the top concern. It started on the Central Coast in Ventura County about four weeks ago. "Then it moved up in to Santa Barbara and now we are seeing it as far north as Guadalupe, Jalama and the southern part of San Luis Obispo County but we are also seeing it out to the Islands," he said.
The sea lion on West Beach was not easy to capture. An injection was used to sedate the animal. It took about five minutes before it started to lie down again. "We don't want to cause anymore stress than we want to," said Hughes about the careful plan that was worked out to capture the animal.
He said they use a special board as a shield and "to protect the volunteer from the animal. They can move so quick and so fast. We just use it to control her."
Two passersby said they saw the sea lion earlier and called in the report for help.
Aaron Scherlek said, the sea lion "was looking up for help and he went to the water and the currents sort of carried him back on shore and he's just here resting."
Walking with him was Pam Hushak who spoke with the rescue volunteers about the sea lion they had spotted with the wound. "We were talking to him a little bit and we thought he was saying 'help me please' and I am so grateful that they came and rescued him."
Hughes told them, "it is people like you that care and call them in and help us respond."
The issues with the seals and sea lions became apparent about a month ago but you might recall earlier this year there was a similar concern that was affecting pelicans.
They were in unusual places such as the freeway and along sea walls where they are never seen. The pelican issue is no longer at the emergency level it was a few months ago, although sea birds regularly are recovered with oil or other issues.
What caught the volunteers a little off guard during the Wednesday morning rescue was the sea lion's remaining energy.
The animal was not in the mood to be transported, and struggled in the crate. That energy was a good sign going into a medical evaluation and an upcoming recovery.
Waters said, "it is definitely better than if it is unresponsive. That is a bad sign. I would say this one has a chance but it's a tough wound."
The sea lion weighed about 125 pounds. One of the largest recovered this year weighed about 450 pounds.
They re taken to the CIMWI facility on the Gaviota coast. In many cases the animals recover and are released back into their natural habitat.
For seals and sea lions under evaluation, special signs are up and the public is asked to keep back at least 50-feet and also to make sure their dogs do not disturb the animals whether they are sick or just resting.
Ruth Dover the Managing Directer of CIMWI said in a written release, "since August 15th and for 23 days consecutive days, CIMWI has been inundated with reports of sick sea lions throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties."
CIMWI is managing 50-100 hotline calls a day. Typically at this time of year, CIMWI would be managing about 20 calls a day.
CIMWI has had 126 cases of marine mammals suffering from domoic acid poisoning in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties since the outbreak started on August 15th. About 30% of these have been in Santa Barbara County and the other 70% of cases have been in Ventura County.
On Monday, August 22nd, CIMWI volunteers responded to 25 different animals along the 155 miles of coastline in their jurisdiction through their marine mammal stranding agreement with NOAA Fisheries.
As of yesterday, CIMWI has rescued a total of 36 marine mammals with domoic acid poisoning.
CIMWI notes that these are all “probable” cases of domoic acid toxicosis because the sample testing to confirm domoic acid is still in progress.
Thursday 9/1/22 through Monday 9/5/22, CIMWI responded to 40 animals with domoic acid symptoms, rescued 12 adult female California sea lions suffering from domoic acid and rescued 1 long-beaked common dolphin that was having seizure activity (within 30 minutes, CIMWI volunteers were at Goleta Beach and had rescued the dolphin with the help of the lifeguards and rangers who were with the dolphin).
Marine mammals are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is illegal to touch, feed, harass, cover, pour water on, and coax/drag/push marine mammals into the water or out of the surf zone.
What is domoic acid?
Domoic acid (DA) is often referred to as “Red Tide” and it is produced by a naturally occurring algal bloom. Domoic acid is a neurotoxin (toxin poisonous to nerve tissue) produced by phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), specifically a microscopic diatom (algae) in the ocean called Pseudonitzschia australis.
The contaminated algae does not directly affect the organisms that consume it which are filter-feeders including small fish (anchovies and sardines), shellfish (crab and shrimp) and bivalves (clams, mussels and oysters). Shellfish and other small fish consume the toxic algae when it is blooming and it accumulates in their bodies. California sea lions and other marine mammals as well as sea birds become affected by the accumulated toxin when they eat prey like anchovies and sardines that have been feeding on the algae during toxin-producing algal blooms. Diagnosis depends on the detection of the poison in serum, urine or feces of affected animals coupled with the detection of Pseudo-nitzschia australis in the environment and prey of affected sea lions.
What effect does domoic acid have on sea lions?
Visual signs of a sea lion suffering from domoic acid toxicosis include disorientation, head swaying back and forth, foaming at the mouth, bulging eyes, involuntary muscle spasms, inability to move out of the ocean, unresponsiveness, seizures and even death. This neurotoxin causes lesions on the brain and shrinking of the hippocampus which is primarily associated with long-term memory and spatial navigation. Damage to the hippocampus can lead to loss of memory and difficulty in establishing new memories as well as learning and storing new information. The degree of effect of domoic acid on sea lions depends on the amount of contaminated fish they consume.
Symptoms of acute DA typically subside after 72 hours as the toxin is eliminated from the body in urine. Rescuing and transporting animals suffering from domoic acid poisoning adds an additional element of stress and may negatively affect the animal’s health and immediate survival. Sometimes, animals are in a location or situation where it is unsafe for volunteers to rescue them. Multiple skilled and experienced volunteers with proper equipment and a transport truck are required to rescue these adult California sea lions that are weighing over 180 pounds.
For animals in rehabilitation with domoic acid, supportive care treatment includes flushing the toxin out of the animal’s body with subcutaneous fluids, administering anti-seizure medication and feeding the sea lion uncontaminated fish. There is no known cure for domoic acid. In many cases, sea lions with DA can recover, forage and survive in the wild. This particular algal bloom of Pseudonitzschia australis seems much stronger than CIMWI has ever experienced and it is attacking our sea lions more intensely.
For more information or to make a donation go to : Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI)
or call (805) 567-1505
CIWMI 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization which relies on donations and grant funding to survive and serve the community of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. CIMWI does not receive any city or county funding to support their work.
