What’s killing hundreds of sea lions and dozens of dolphins along the Southern California coast?

Sea lions recuperate at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro on Tuesday. More than 1,000 marine mammals along the Southern California coast have gotten sick or died this month due to a bloom of toxic algae, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Please continue to report all sick and injured marine mammals as we are getting to as many animals as we can, as quickly as we can, each day.” High concentrations of domoic acid — a neurotoxin produced by the marine algae Pseudo-nitzschia — have been found in waters from Orange County to San Luis Obispo County, according to forecasts by the NOAA and the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System. Sam Dover, executive director of the Channel Islands institute, said in an Instagram post that the institute was “currently inundated with domoic acid sea lions and dolphins.” “We are receiving 30-60 calls per hour and responding to over 30 animals per day,” he said. California sea lions are the ocean mammals most frequently exposed to domoic acid because of the location of their foraging sites and habitats, according to the Channel Islands institute.