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Why you should stay away from sick sea lions, for their good — and yours

July 4, 2023

The best (and safest) way to help sick sea lions, it turns out, is to not really help at all — except for calling the experts.

A toxic algae bloom up and down the California coast has been sickening sea lions and other ocean mammals over the last month or so, causing them to come ashore in alarming numbers, which has overwhelmed care facilities.

More than 1,000 sea lions and more than 100 dolphins have been reported sick or dead along the California coast. And more than 100 sea lions likely suffering from domoic acid toxicity have stranded themselves on Los Angeles area beaches since the bloom, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a Friday press release.

“To see a sea lion on the beach in the middle of a crowded summer day, that’s not normal,” Dave Bader, chief operations and education officer for the Marine Mammal Care Center, in San Pedro, said in a Friday interview.

While you may want to go up to the sea lions and do what you can to help them, it’s best that you don’t. There are mulitple reasons why — including that you can be poisoned by the toxin too.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sick marine mammals and why staying away from them is the best thing you can do to help — especially since the Fourth of July is a typically busy beach day.

Why you should stay away

A neurotoxin in the algae, domoic acid, gets concentrated through ingestion as it goes up the food chain. So when small fish eat the sea greenery, the toxin builds in their tissues, then the sea lions eat the fish.

Because they’re semi-aquatic, it’s not uncommon for sea lions to come onto shore if they’re sick — or just want some air.

“If people didn’t exist in the world, there would probably be sea lions on the beach,” Bader said. “But because we do, they don’t really haul out on local beaches anymore.”

When they do, it’s usually to rest, he added.

“They don’t spend their entire lives in the water,” Bader said. “It’s natural for them to come out onto shore if they’re in need.”

But the domoic acid can cause the animals to behave in ways they normally wouldn’t, Bader said, including hauling out onto the beach even with lots of people around.

Sea lions typically stay away from people, Bader said, and it’s rare for them to be aggressive. But because of the neurotoxin, Bader said, the animals may act differently — potentially endangering humans who get too close.

“Because these animals are sick and unpredictable,” Bader said, “coming in close contact with them, you could get bitten.”

Giving the sea lions space so they’re not worried is one thing people can do to help them heal, Bader said.

And for what it’s worth, it’s also illegal to harm or harass the animals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Bader said.

Marine experts and public health officials have urged people to stay at least 50 feet from stranded sea lions, Bader said.

And if you see an animal on a beach, the best way to help is to email a picture of it, along with a photo of the nearest lifeguard tower, to [email protected]. People can also call 1-800-39-WHALE to report stranded sea mammals.

“We’re trying to find the most restful and calm spaces for them to be so they can sleep, be not stressed,” Bader said. “When you have the flu, the last thing you want to do is go to work; you need the most restful situation to recuperate. For sea lions, it’s not too dissimilar.”

Are humans at risk of getting sick?

In short, getting to close to these sick animals can make you ill as well.

But that’s not the only way people can get domoic acid poisoning. They can also get it by eating recreationally caught shellfish, Bader said.

Commercial shellfish, however, is generally considered safe, as it gets tested and wouldn’t make it to market if were contaminated.

But the California Department of Public Health has issued an advisory warning folks not to eat sport-harvested mussels, clam or scallops that come from from Santa Barbara County, per LA County’s Friday release.

Symptoms of toxicity, also called amnesic shellfish poisoning, can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood, according to CDPH. In mild cases, people may experience vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness, with the symptoms disappearing within several days.Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma or death.

There’s really no telling when things will calm down with the algae bloom, Bader said. Marine experts say this algae bloom could last six to eight weeks, based on instances in the past, Bader said, but we’re already four weeks in — so it’ll be at least another month before things clear up.

“It depends on what the waves and water want to do,” Bader said. “Algae responds to oceanic conditions, so as long as the ocean is favorable for that algae to grow, it’ll keep happening.”

With warmer temperatures ahead for July 4 and beyond, it looks like the algae won’t die down too soon.

Orange County Register

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Why you should stay away from sick sea lions, for their good — and yours

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