The toxic algae bloom off Southern California's coast is not only sickening sea lions and birds, it's also killing dolphins.
More than 50 dolphins have washed up on Southern California beaches since March, "And they never come to shore," Dave Bader with the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro told KNX News' Karen Adams.
"So, should one wash up on the beach, it's either close to death or already dead," Bader said.
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This is the fourth consecutive year that a large Desmoic acid-producing algae bloom has been seen off the coast, sickening all kinds of marine life, but he says he's never seen it this bad.
"We don't know what the long-term impacts will be for having so many consecutive years of this toxic bloom. That's gonna need study in its own right," Bader said. "But [dolphins are] a sentinel species. They're telling us about the health of the ocean, and when we see marine life dying, and we're seeing it in increasing levels with more frequency, the ocean's telling us something's off."
He says if you see a stranded dolphin or sick seal, stay at least 50 feet away and call the Marine Mammal Center at (800) 839-WHALE.
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