Pacific Ocean off California coast turning into desert-like dead
zone
Thursday, May 21, 2015 by: L.J. Devon,
Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) It's anyone's guess why temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are
heating up off the coast of Southern California. Is a natural El Niņo effect
occurring, or is there something more sinister happening under the blue ocean
waters?
Off the coast of California, drastic signs of a rapidly changing Pacific Ocean
are cropping up. Warmer currents have forced species of fish away from the
coast. A massive fish migration, coupled with typical overfishing, has led to
dwindling populations of key species like sardines, oysters, shellfish, scallops
and krill. As the aquatic species move away from the coast in search of a better
habitat, the sentinel California sea lion population is suffering. In fact, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that more
than 3,000 sea lion pups have become stranded in 2015. The Marine Mammal Center
is sending out veterinarians to rescue the stranded sea lions so they can be
nursed back to health.
Shawn Johnson, head veterinarian for the Marine Mammal Center, reported in
March: "We're having a tsunami of sea lions... it's been incredible." Johnson
says the most devastated areas are in southern California, and they are finding
emaciated sea lions on practically every beach. "The lucky ones are making it to
the beaches where we can find them," Johnson reports. "The biologists out on the
rookeries are saying that a whole cohort of these pups, thousands and thousands,
are not surviving," he said.
Record number of sea lions pups being rescued as their food disappears
It's very unusual to see the pups alone in the winter months. They aren't
usually left alone until early summer. According to experts, the parent pups are
embarking on longer journeys just to find food. The NOAA reports that May 2015
could become the worst month on record, with 215 rescued in the first five days
of the month.
Justin Viezbicke of the NOAA says, "The main contributing factor that we're
looking at right now and talking about with the biologists and climatologists on
the Channel Islands [a major sea lion rookery] is the lack of upwelling. We
haven't had the strong north winds that drive the currents that create it, and
because it hasn't materialized - it's moved the prey further and deeper from the
moms that are foraging."
Laura Scherr of the Marine Mammal Center adds that the pups are more vulnerable
to parasites and pneumonia than ever before. "They're coming in very emaciated -
really just a bag of bones near death," she reports.
Experts shocked as California coast becomes like a desert dead zone
One of the most telling signs that a dangerous shift has occurred is in the
appearance of the waters just off the coast. The experts are worried about the
emergence of crystal clear waters. These clear, shimmering blue waters indicate
that the ocean is becoming a
desert land void of life.
The NOAA reports that the waters are becoming so transparent that it's possible
to see the sandy bottom below, and that's not a good thing. As life migrates
away from the coast, parent sea lion pups are leaving for up to a week at a time
to find food. Bewildered pups end up on the shore, frail and disoriented.
Viezbicke believes the problem is a regional one and not indicative of larger
patterns of global warming. Even as rescue centers are overwhelmed, Viezbicke
says the massive die-off is all part of a natural cycle and thinks that the
sea lions are a victim
of their own success.
Nevertheless, the NOAA plans to continue studying the travesty as researchers
look for deeper, underlying problems like infectious diseases and algal blooms.
While investigating further, could these regional ocean changes be sparked by
the first waves of radioactivity that have leaked out into the Pacific from the
infamous Fukushima explosion? As the NOAA witnesses the California coast
morphing into a desert-like dead zone, could this really be repercussions of
radioactive waters?