SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The state of Baja California’s civil protection agency is asking the public to stay away from stranded sea lions and other marine mammals on the beach.
Officials are reporting an unusually high number of beached animals due “domoic acid or phytotoxin” in the water.
Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by certain algae that can cause shellfish poisoning in humans and other animals.
“We’re responding to phone calls and social media posts about stranded animals,” said Joaquín Mercado de Santiago, head of Baja’s Civil Protection. “We believe it’s an environmental contagion causing all of this,”
Lifeguards have also been busy tending to the sick animals.
Mercado de Santiago is asking residents not to approach stranded animals since some have been known to attack people when in distress, and to instead call 911.
He did not provide an exact number of stranded animals seen in recent weeks, but said there have been more than a dozen.
“The coordination of different government agencies and organizations is fundamental as we try to protect our marine fauna,” he said.
Sick animals on the beach are also becoming prevalent north of the border.
According to Jenny Smith, the head of SeaWorld Rescue, there have been nine pelicans sickened and one cormorant, but the sea lions have taken the hardest hit from domoic acid poisonings, with 29 rescued in just the last few months.
The poisonings are a result of a toxic algae bloom, Smith says.
The embedded video is this story shows a sick sea lion on a San Diego County beach.
Read: Read More