{"id":58700,"date":"2023-06-30T14:05:39","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T21:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=58700"},"modified":"2023-06-30T14:05:39","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T21:05:39","slug":"beachgoers-advised-to-avoid-sick-sea-lions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=58700","title":{"rendered":"Beachgoers Advised to Avoid Sick Sea Lions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Domoic acid poisoning can cause seizures, death in marine mammals and people who eat contaminated seafood<\/em><\/h2>\n

Large algae blooms off the California coast are endangering marine mammals and making some seafood unsafe to eat, according to several Los Angeles County departments.<\/p>\n

Domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced during these blooms, enters the food chain when plankton eat the toxic algae, and it becomes more concentrated as it moves up the food chain. In large quantities, it can cause seizures and heart failure. While sea lions and dolphins can become symptomatic after eating contaminated fish like sardines, contaminated shellfish pose the greatest threat to humans.<\/p>\n

Already, more than 100 sea lions likely suffering from domoic acid toxicity have stranded themselves on Los Angeles County beaches\u2014and it\u2019s likely that more will appear over the holiday weekend and Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

Beachgoers should give sick sea lions at least 50 feet of space and immediately call the\u00a0Marine Mammal Care Center<\/a>\u00a0(MMCC) at 800-39-WHALE (800-399-4253), according to the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC), which is supporting rescue efforts by coordinating resources. In Malibu, people should call the\u00a0California Wildlife Center<\/a>\u00a0at 310-458-WILD (9453) and select option 1.<\/p>\n

Sick sea lions may become agitated and aggressive, and contact with humans can result in injury to the person and severe stress and anxiety for the sea lion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough you may want to help, the best and safest way to assist is to stay away and report the sick animal immediately,\u201d said Marcia Mayeda, DACC Director. \u201cAnother way to help is to donate your time or funds to the MMCC and the California Wildlife Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of sick sea lions is much higher than in previous years, overwhelming local marine rescue facilities like the MMCC in San Pedro. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors (DBH) worked with the MMCC to establish a temporary care facility on the Marina Peninsula, just north of Marina del Rey, to provide additional treatment areas for sea lions as they recover from their illnesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working closely with the MMCC to ensure they have the necessary resources at their short-term beach care center,\u201d DBH Director Gary Jones said. \u201cWe hope that beachgoers will give the rescuers and their patients plenty of room, even when the beach is crowded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consuming domoic acid in high doses can also be fatal to humans, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public should take precautions to stay safe as California and Los Angeles County experience a bloom of toxic algae that is impacting marine life,\u201d said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. \u201cEating contaminated seafood can cause illness or even death in humans, and I urge residents to stay informed and check for\u00a0state-issued shellfish advisories<\/a>\u00a0before consuming seafood and shellfish, such as crabs, clams, mussels and oysters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH)\u00a0monitors state fisheries for domoic acid<\/a>\u00a0and issues\u00a0shellfish consumption advisories<\/a>. Currently, CDPH has issued an\u00a0advisory<\/a>\u00a0warning residents not to eat sport-harvested mussels, clams, or scallops from Santa Barbara County.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning, also known as amnesic shellfish poisoning, can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood, according to CDPH. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days. In severe cases, the victim may experience trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma or death. Residents experiencing symptoms should contact their health care provider. Residents with severe symptoms should call 9-1-1 or seek immediate emergency care.<\/p>\n

DACC, DBH and Public Health will continue to monitor the situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Domoic acid poisoning can cause seizures,...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58701,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58700\/revisions\/58701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}