Dead sea lion washes ashore on Hermosa Beach in S. California

April 23, 2011 – LOS ANGELES – A dead sea lion washed onto the beach just north of the Hermosa Beach Pier on Saturday morning—the animal is one of dozens that have been found sick or dead in Southern California this month. Hermosa Beach Animal Control has notified the county Department of Beaches and Harbors, officials told Patch, and maintenance crews will recover the sea mammal. Marine animals—sea lions, dolphins, fish and even some birds—have been found ill or dead recently due to a neurotoxin in local ocean waters called domoic acid. “It’s obvious from the stress on their face and behavior and having seizures on the beach, it’s all domoic acid,” said Peter Wallerstein, director of Marine Animal Rescue, on Saturday morning. “The pregnant sea lions are hard ones to watch, and the pups inside of them don’t fare very well.” Wallerstein’s rescue team has seen 10 sick sea lions in Hermosa Beach out of the 82 animals they’ve rescued along the Southern California coastline in April, he said. His team has also rescued eight dolphins in the past two weeks. “The alarming thing is the ones we see on the beach are just a tip of the iceberg,” Wallerstein said. “Some may have died and never made it to the beach.” Domoic acid, which is found in algae blooms along the California coast, causes grand mal seizures, brain damage, and even partial paralysis in larger animals that feed on fish or shellfish that have ingested the substance. The toxin’s potency is increased by pollution, such as fertilizers or urban runoff, that washes out to sea, Wallerstein said. His team has seen the impact that domoic acid can have on local marine life “every year for the past seven years, probably before that,” he said. “But the numbers have increased really from 2003 on. Some years it’s stronger than others. This year it’s a very potent bloom. It’s called pseudo-nitzschia, and it can bloom non-toxic substance or bloom the nuerotoxin domoic acid.” –Hermosa Beach Patch