Marine life experts are concerned about severe algae flowers that have left thousands of marine mammals along the Southern California coast this year, including sea lions, dolphins and whales.
One humpback whale, one minke and two gray whale wash land deaths in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
NOAA confirmed that Domoacid is the cause of death of a female boy humpback whale stuck in Huntington Beach and a male boy who stayed in the port of Long Beach.
“This coincides with many other marine mammals affected by domoacids produced by the harmful algae bloom off the coast of Southern California, which was first detected in February,” Michael Millstein, a spokesman for NOAA’s West Coast Regional Office, told the LA Times earlier this week.
The necrosis results revealed that domain acid toxins are associated with the death of humpback whales in Huntington Beach. (Pacific Marine Mammal Center)
NOAA said toxins accumulate in small fish such as sardines and anchovies before affecting the entire marine food chain.
“This is the fourth consecutive year of domoic acid outbreak, the most severe to date. As ocean temperatures rise, these harmful flowers are becoming more frequent and more intense,” the news release said.
Anyone who discovers a bound marine mammal is asked to report it to the West Coast Marine Mammal Chain Net Hotline at 866-767-6114.
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