Toxin attacking Dungeness crab is also hurting sea lions

Sick sea lions from more than 600 miles of coastline are being hauled off beaches and treated in Monterey County.

“It’s kind of concerning that we’re seeing it in a new species and a threatened species,” said Sonny Knaub with the Marine Mammal Center.

The Marine Mammal Center is treating sea lions for everything from seizures to lethargy and disorientation before releasing them back into the wild.

“They’re definitely flooding in,” said Knaub.

Marine biologists say the conditions are caused by demoic acid produced by an algae bloom in this year’s unusually warm waters along the coast.

“Basically what happens is smaller fish consume this demoic acid that’s from this algae bloom and it concentrates in the fish and the sea lions eat these fish with the concentrated demoic acid and it causes issues in the sea lion,” said Knaub.

This year the Marine Mammal Center has treated 213 California sea lions and 4 Guadalupe fur seals with demoic acid.

“The amount of patients coming in with demoic acid is quite a lot,” said Knaub.

“Then having Guadalupe fur seals, a threatened species come in with d.a. is also extremely concerning.”

The Marine Mammal Center discovered the first case of demoic acid in marine mammals in 1998, but this year the center says it’s more persistent and causing a higher mortality rate.

“There’s more blooms out there and we’re preparing ourselves for another year of d.a. ,” said Knaub.

More work is also going on behind the scenes.

Researchers are looking into the causes, treatment and detection of demoic acid to save not only the lives of sea lions but the health of the ocean.

“They’re collecting information and hopefully trying to give us some answers to the questions that we have,” said Knaub.