On Calif Coast, Biotoxins Cause Deadly Sea Lion Seizures, Seafood Scare

"An outbreak of algae-produced biotoxins that attack animals' brains also poses a grave risk to humans"

"MORRO BAY, Calif. – Packed with large nets, wooden boards and a large crate, a dark blue truck scoured the edges of surfer-lined Pismo Beach late one morning earlier this month. Onlookers in the distance tipped them off to what they were searching for.

“I see a sea lion,” said Geno DeRango, the stranding coordinator at Marine Mammal Center's San Luis Obispo Operations, as he quickly slipped on medical rubber gloves and began prepping a large syringe.

The truck came to a halt and the rest of DeRango’s crew suited up for the rescue – wooden boards in hand, two crew members crowded around a disoriented sea lion convulsing on the edge of the water while DeRango threw a net over it. The fourth crew member injected the sea lion with an anti-seizure medication before herding the animal into a large crate and loading it on the bed of the truck."

Courtney Quirin reports for Aljazeera America August 26, 2014.