© Jebb Harris
Two dead dolphins that washed up on the shores of Newport Beach on Sunday appear to have died from domoic acid, a poison that can be deadly to large sea mammals and birds.
Mike Teague, animal control officer for Newport Beach, said experts at the Natural History Museum are also reporting that dead dolphins have also washed up in Los Angeles County.
On Sunday, an adult dolphin washed up at 15th Street in Newport Beach, and another at 61st Street later that afternoon. He said the domoic acid seems to affect male species. The symptoms include floppiness, dizziness and tremors; the acid can cause brain damage.
On Saturday, a large adult dolphin seemed disorientated and was swimming on the inside of surfers close to shore on the north side of the Newport Pier. It is unclear if it was one of the same dolphins found dead on shore.
News reports show that in August 2010, an outbreak of domoic acid was sickening birds and sea lions off the coast. An outbreak occurred in 2007 when sea lions and pelicans suddenly started washing up on shore, and in 2002-03 a large outbreak caused the deaths of more than a thousand sea lions and 50 dolphins, according to past reports.
The dolphins were sent to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, where they were performing a necropsy on the mammals.
Michele Hunter, director of operations and animal care, said the dolphins have been exhibiting seizures on the beach before they died, a common effect of domoic acid. Samples confirming the cause should be ready in 24 hours, she said.
Medical director Richard Evans said the recent outbreak started a month ago, affecting the areas between Santa Barbara and San Onofre. There have been about half dozen sea lions washed up dead in the past month. Another dead dolphin was reported in Huntington Beach Monday morning, but by the time the crew arrived the carcass had washed away.
"What can we do about it? We can't do anything about it," Evans said. "We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, it could go away, or it could come back."
The domoic acid is caused by a bloom of a diatom called tseudonitchia, a one-celled animal that lives in the ocean, according to Evans. It bloomed and caused a toxin called domoic acid. Small fish eat this, then larger fish eat those fish, and so on until it moves up the food chain to larger animals.
People can be affected if they receive large doses of domoic acid poisoning - for example, by eating shellfish. Over the years, a few deaths and some illnesses have been reported.
"The sea lions, the birds and dolphins eat the fish filled up with the domoic acid, and it ends up like a chain reaction," Teague said. "Some handle it better than others. It's just a natural occurrence, nothing you can do about it."
Teague said it was not common for dolphins to wash up on shore, despite the number off the coast. Orange County is home to a "mega pod" of about 5,000 dolphins that live offshore.
Beachgoers on Sunday tried to push the dolphin back into the ocean, but Teague said that the animals are better left alone if they are beached.
"If they are coming up to the beach like that, most likely they are coming up to die," he said. "It's not helping the situation by pushing them back in. Get a hold of animal control, and we can get a hold of somebody."
© Jebb Harris
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