Sick sea lions are washing up on the beaches. of Southern California.
By LAUREL BUSBY
Special to Circling the News
The most virulent and longest toxic algae bloom in Santa Monica Bay history is killing unprecedented numbers of dolphins, sea lions, and birds along the coast, according to John Warner, the chief executive officer of the Marine Mammal Care Center.
Compared to previous blooms, “this is by far the worst,” Warner said during a webinar of experts hosted by City Councilwoman Traci Park on April 22. Previously, the 2023 bloom was the most damaging, but “this is exceeding that on many fronts.”
At the beach, Warner noted that “what people are witnessing is really emotionally difficult to watch” with sea lions foaming at the mouth and aborting fetuses, while dolphins suffer seizures and die.
While some sea lions recover, “there’s no recovery for dolphins,” he said. “It’s mortality plain and simple.”
The bloom, which began in December, is releasing not only domoic acid but the more lethal saxitoxin, Warner said. Usually only one toxin enters the ocean in bloom, but the combination of toxins is particularly dangerous for sea life. The substances build up in the animals’ bodies not only through swimming in the ocean, but also through eating contaminated sea life.
Since the bloom began before the January 7 fire, it’s not yet clear if the fire and the subsequent toxic run-off increased the bloom’s severity, although it’s a possibility, Warner said. The Marine Mammal Care Center is testing blood, urine, milk, amniotic fluids, and fetuses from affected animals for heavy metals, pesticides, and alga toxins to try to determine the cause, while other experts were simultaneously testing the ocean water in multiple locations.
In addition to the algae toxins, Heal the Bay found that lead, chromium, and beryllium exceeded safe levels for marine life at multiple locations, according to Tracy Quinn, the organization’s chief executive officer. In addition, nickel and copper exceeded safe levels for marine life at Big Rock, while copper was also high at Temescal Canyon.
In order to determine whether humans might be impacted, Quinn said one challenge was understanding the prior levels of the varied pollutants in the ocean as well as safety thresholds for people. Heal the Bay’s previous testing checked for bacteria levels but not toxins from urban fire runoff, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polyfluoroalkyl substances, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and benzene.
“No one is out in the ocean testing for these, so we have no health limits for them in ocean water,” Quinn said. “What are we going to compare this data to so we can understand the human health risks?”
Drinking water and fish consumption are two areas where established limits have been set, Quinn said, so Heal the Bay used those levels to determine areas of concern. Both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and beryllium exceeded safety thresholds for fish consumption, but whether that might translate into a danger for swimming and surfing was not at first clear.
The organization reached out to the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, which was also conducting testing of not only water, but beach sand. The board’s tests found that arsenic exceeded risk thresholds at all 14 of their water and sand sample sites, which stretch from Zuma Beach to Torrance. However, the arsenic levels were similar to normal background levels, so they weren’t higher than normal due to the fire, according to representative Jenny Newman. The board’s testing results are available at this link click here.
In terms of the levels of toxins in the water, “they seem to be going down slowly,” Newman said. “They were never at levels that exceeded human health standards, except the arsenic.”
Quinn agreed that the ocean should be safe for recreational use for four hours of water contact at a time for up to 120 days during the year.
“Humans are only in the water for a few hours at a time and potentially inhaling or ingesting in small quantities,” Quinn said in the webinar’s Q & A.
However, she recommended avoiding beaches between Carbon Beach and Santa Monica Beach at Montana, while also remaining 250 yards away from burns and debris removal areas.
Homes along the ocean were burned during the Palisades Fire.
In addition, the ocean should be avoided 72 hours after a rain and within 100 yards of a storm drain, she said. Since 327 houses were destroyed that sit within the high tideline zone, waves can easily wash their debris into the water, which makes swimming near them a poor idea. This pollution danger has made these homes a focus for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ debris removal teams.
“We have higher levels at Santa Monica Pier and Dockweiler,” Quinn said. “Either the currents are pooling the contaminants in those areas, or maybe there’s another source that we hadn’t noticed because we hadn’t been testing for [these pollutants] before.”
Dr. Noelle Held, a USC professor, shared that nitrogen, which people often use in their gardens, can also precipitate larger algae blooms when it flows into the ocean. She recommended that gardeners avoid both artificial pesticides and fertilizers because of how the run-off from lawns and gardens can negatively impact the ocean.
Another potential issue stems from the contaminants bioaccumulating along the food chain, “which can make fish unsafe for people to eat.” About 180,000 anglers fish along the bay’s beaches, Quinn said. “We want to better understand the impact on the wildlife and the Angelenos who are fishing,” she noted.
A last difficulty is the expense of the testing. Quinn said that testing for this extensive variety of pollutants costs $3,000 per sample, not including the staff and gear costs. If residents would like to contribute to the effort, donations can be sent to either Heal the Bay click here or the Marine Mammal Care Center click here.