Sick Sea Lions Flood Shelters in California

SAUSALITO, Calif.—Record numbers of distressed sea lions have washed ashore in California for a second straight year, the latest example of a marine mammal facing severe problems amid what biologists say is overfishing and other human-caused strains on the world's oceans.

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The problem may have implications for humans, researchers say. "Sea lions are living and feeding on the same resource as humans are," said Shawn Johnson, director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center. "If they are starting to have problems, that shows there could be a problem with the ocean."

Scientists suspect the surge in numbers has to do in part with the sea lions' food sources moving farther away, perhaps because climate change has shifted ocean currents or changed water temperatures. Evidence suggests a problem with one of the animal's major food sources, sardines, biologists say. The majority of the distressed animals have been pups, which biologists say likely were abandoned by their mothers for lack of food.

Some researchers suggest rising toxicity in the oceans could be playing a role as well. The number of sea lions needing help after exposure to toxins from such problems as shellfish poisoning has also risen. Federal officials are investigating the situation after declaring an unusually high sea-lion mortality rate in 2013. Other marine mammal species around the world also have suffered health crises in recent years, due in part to human threats including overfishing. The populations of orcas in the Pacific Northwest and beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet have both plummeted over the past two decades, amid pressures including toxic contamination and oil and gas development, according to reports by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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In some cases, federal officials have curtailed fishing to help the animals recover—at an economic cost. After Stellar sea lions were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, some areas were closed to fishing for species including cod.

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Center officials say they are looking to add at least 100 volunteers to the 1,100 normally available and to beef up funding. Feeding the animals 1,000 pounds of fish a day costs $1,000, Dr. Johnson said.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/sick-sea-lions-flood-shelters-in-california-1402093448



A sea-lion pup is tube-fed last month at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif.