Whales in Long Beach and Huntington Beach both died of domoic acid toxicity
According to researchers from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center and the Ocean Animal Response & Research Alliance, domoic acid toxicity caused the death of two whale species along the Southern California coast. The researchers, who performed necropsies on a juvenile humpback and subadult minke stranded on the beaches in Los Angeles and Orange counties, confirmed high levels of domoic acid present in multiple samples, including feces, stomach contents, and urine.
As previously reported, dozens of marine animals, including dolphins and sea lions, are dying due to a toxic algae bloom stretching from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. The scope of this crisis is evident at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, where the nonprofit has seen such an influx of sick animals that staff have had to build temporary enclosures in the parking lot. CEO John Warner attributes the rise in strandings to animals consuming fish contaminated by domoic acid.
“It’s a neurological toxin. It affects their brains. They’re having seizures. They’re completely disoriented,” Warner explained.
Algae containing domoic acid—sometimes referred to as red tide—has long existed off the California coast. But biologists suspect that recent windstorms, which also fueled devastating wildfires, may have disturbed sediment in the ocean, releasing more nutrients and stimulating the bloom.
“Whether it be with a fire or just organic waste flowing into the ocean, those all contribute to the size, scale, intensity of these blooms,” Warner said. “And we believe there’s a direct correlation to the toxicity levels in the algae itself. They’re at a high, high level during this particular bloom.”
New findings show that the domoic acid event is spreading through the marine food web and is affecting more species as it continues.
“Whales are sentinels of ocean health, and their suffering signals a larger ecological imbalance driven by intensifying harmful algal blooms. These events are no longer isolated—they’re increasing in scope, scale, frequency, and severity,” Keith Matassa, CEO and founder of OARRA, said.
Dr. Kathi Lefebvre, NOAA Research Biologist, added, “Seventeen years of surveillance by NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center/Wildlife Algal-toxins Research and Response Network show that harmful algal blooms and their toxins are becoming more frequent, severe, and long-lasting, especially with warming ocean conditions. Marine mammal toxin exposures have increased significantly in the past two decades.”
Necropsies are still pending on two gray whales.
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