May 25, 2025
How Harmful Algal Blooms Are Poisoning California’s Marine Wildlife
Harmful algal blooms are wreaking havoc along the California coast, releasing toxic domoic acid that is poisoning marine life. In this episode, we explore how this naturally occurring toxin is causing mass die-offs in sea lions, dolphins, and seabirds , and why climate change and nutrient pollution may be making these blooms worse. You’ll hear about the science behind domoic acid, its neurological effects on animals, and how it mimics epilepsy symptoms in marine mammals.
Domoic acid poisoning is becoming a more frequent and devastating threat to ocean ecosystems, pushing wildlife rescue centers to their limits. We discuss the broader implications of this crisis on marine conservation efforts and public health, and what we can do to protect vulnerable species as ocean temperatures rise. This is not just a marine science issue—it’s an urgent conservation challenge that demands our attention.
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Transcript
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(upbeat music)
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On today's episode of the How
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to Protect the Ocean podcast,
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we're gonna be talking about a story
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that has to do with damoic acid.
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You're probably
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wondering what is damoic acid?
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It's actually something
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that causes marine mammals
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to die off the Pacific West Coast
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or the West Coast of North America.
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We're gonna be talking
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about what's happened happening
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to sea lions, dolphins,
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and other marine mammals,
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and seabirds that is causing a lot of
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people some concern.
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We're gonna talk about
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that on today's episode
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of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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So let's get into it.
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Hey everybody, my name is Andrew Lewin.
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Welcome to the How to
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Protect the Ocean podcast.
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I'm your host.
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And this is the
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podcast where you find out
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what's happening with the ocean,
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how you can speak up for the ocean,
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and what you can do to
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live for a better ocean
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by taking action.
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On today's episode,
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we're gonna be talking about
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damoic acid and why this toxic algae
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is causing damoic acid to
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actually affect the lives
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of sea lions, marine
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mammals, and other marine mammals,
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such as dolphins and whales,
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and how this has been
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going on for a lot longer
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than it has before.
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Four years ago, we started
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to detect this toxic algae
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in the waters off the Pacific Coast,
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off the West Coast of North America,
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in particular California,
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and that's caused a lot
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of concern for some people.
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And we want to talk about it today,
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because I want to kind of go through
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and discuss a little bit about what this
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is all about, right?
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Just to talk about what damoic acid is
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and how it affects the body.
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The damoic acid is a neurotoxin produced
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by certain algal blooms,
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particularly those involving
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algae of the pseudonicisia.
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I think I pronounced that properly.
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When these blooms occur,
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the toxin can accumulate in small fish
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like sardines and anchovies,
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and then marine mammals,
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such as sea lions and dolphins,
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will consume these
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fish leading to poisoning,
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it leads to bioaccumulation.
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So these tiny, tiny
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fish will have a little bit
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of this neurotoxin, this algae in it,
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because that's what it eats,
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and then that gets eaten
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by larger marine mammals,
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such as sea lions and dolphins.
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They start to accumulate
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as they eat many, many fish.
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They start to accumulate
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that toxin in the body,
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and it starts to get really, really bad,
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and it starts to lead to poisoning.
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So the affected animals exhibit symptoms
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like disorientation,
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lethargy, and seizures.
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Some display even
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behavior known as stargazing,
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where they tilt their
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heads back and gaze upwards,
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telltale sign of damoic acid poisoning.
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So in recent months, these are months,
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not just a couple of weeks,
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the situation has escalated.
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Rescue centers, such as the California,
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off the California coast,
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as the Marine Mammal
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Center, are overwhelmed.
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The Marine Mammal Care
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Center in Los Angeles,
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for instance, has been
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inundated with cases,
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hundreds of cases.
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David Bader, which you're
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gonna hear from in a video
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that I've got queued up in a little bit,
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he's a marine biologist at the center,
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reported that there have been over 70
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animals in their care
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just in that particular location,
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most suffering from
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damoic acid poisoning.
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So this is a big
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problem that's happening.
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I wanna play the video to
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give you a little bit more.
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It's affecting sea lions, dolphins,
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and you're gonna see in this clip,
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it actually is affecting
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birds as well, sea birds as well.
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So we're gonna hear a
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little bit about it.
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So just, I'm gonna just talk about,
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I'm gonna queue it up here.
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Oops.
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Still getting used to the software.
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All right, let's just queue it up.
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Here we go.
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Struggling what this
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toxin does to these animals
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and what environmental
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factors could be contributing
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to these algae blooms
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that we've been seeing.
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Damoic acid is a neurotoxin.
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It affects obviously
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nerves, brain functions,
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and organ function as well.
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It causes things like seizures.
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You saw that a pelican
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kind of weaving its head.
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So, you know,
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repetitive behaviors like that.
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We see that in sea lions as well.
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Unfortunately, it can also cause death.
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This particular boom has
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been particularly legal
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for local marine life.
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Sea birds, dolphins, and
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sea lions have been impacted.
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It's been going on
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about 10 weeks right now.
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We believe that, you know,
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ocean conditions are
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changing because of climate change,
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ocean acidification,
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and the vitrification
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of our coastal ocean.
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We're shifting the ocean's chemistry,
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and it's favoring these formations of
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these kinds of blooms.
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What contributes to it?
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Is there anything from our recent
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wildfires and some of the debris that's
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ended up in the water that's
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contributing to this as well?
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So the major driving factors of this,
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again, are climate
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change, ocean acidification,
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but also neutrification.
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So runoff, any kind of runoff, is going
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to contribute to these blooms.
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The fires certainly had, you
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know, maybe some nutrients,
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excess nutrients
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coming in from, you know,
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possibly the fire retardants
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might have had some of that.
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All runoff though
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contributes nutrients to the ocean.
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And this is actually year four of a
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massive bloom just like this.
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So the fires might have
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contributed a little bit,
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but the major driving factors are beyond
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just that one event.
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So this is something we really need to be
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paying attention to.
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If we've entered the fourth
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year now, I see, you know,
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some of your workers here
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trying to care for these animals.
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Can you just talk about what type of
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impact this has, you
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know, even on your center?
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Yeah, well, on the center, we budget in a
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year for 300 patients
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over the course of a year.
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We're just now in April and we've already
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seen over 300 patients.
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So impacts on us are certainly financial.
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I'm just going to stop it there because,
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you know, we get the picture
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in terms of what's happening.
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I'm going to put a link in the show notes
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if you want to support the
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Marine Mammal Care Center,
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because I think it's really important.
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You mentioned there that financial
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resources are tight because there have
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been so many animals.
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They only have a certain amount of
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funding and they can only
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handle what they budget for.
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And they don't budget for this type of
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incident, especially an
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incident that lasts so, so long.
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Normally when you get toxic algae blooms,
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like red algal blooms, you get, it lasts
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maybe for a few weeks, maybe a month.
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This has been happening
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for over a couple of months.
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We're probably into the third or fourth
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month that has been happening.
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And we're starting to see more and more
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animals die in the care and more and more
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animals being
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affected along the coastline.
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So, you know, the root causes you talked
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about is not only harmful algal blooms,
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but they're complex.
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Climate change plays a significant role.
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Essentially how these algal blooms form
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is because of the heat in the water.
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The temperature of the water allows for
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these toxic algal blooms to form in ways
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that we've never seen before.
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Right. We haven't seen this amount and
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this, this length in a long time when you
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have algal blooms or you have algae that
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feed off of temperature off of a specific
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amount of nutrients like
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nitrates and phosphates.
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And this is what happens essentially. You
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just get this perfect combination of
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conditions. Sea surface temperatures up,
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you get nutrient runoff, enough of
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nutrient runoff to
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support a bloom of this algae.
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It's just a plant and it blooms. And then
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what happens is it just blooms so much
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that eventually they all die off and they
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come to the shore or they get eaten by
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sardines. They get eaten by sea lions.
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They get eaten by dolphins and so forth
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and seabirds. And then those start to
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die. Those are the triggers and sort of
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the indicators of what's happening.
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They are the canary in the coal mine when
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it comes to these toxic algal blooms.
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Now we're lucky that we have testing with
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fisheries. So shellfish and other fish so
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that we don't get the humans who ingest
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seafood that would get affected by this
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don't get poisoned because
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testing is really important.
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But sometimes that testing fails and you
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01:08:32,750 --> 01:08:36,250
get people who have democ acid toxicity
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01:08:36,250 --> 01:08:38,541
and they can die from it. It has happened
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01:08:38,541 --> 01:08:39,583
before or less now because
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we know what to look for.
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01:08:39,708 --> 01:08:42,583
But especially cases like this, I'm sure
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it's affecting the seafood industry along
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01:08:44,958 --> 01:08:46,708
the shore. So it's affecting the economy.
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01:08:46,708 --> 01:08:48,208
It's affecting the health of the animals.
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01:08:48,208 --> 01:08:48,791
It's potentially
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affecting the health of people.
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01:08:50,916 --> 01:08:51,958
And it's something that you don't want to
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01:08:51,958 --> 01:08:53,166
be around with all these dead animals
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01:08:53,166 --> 01:08:55,375
coming up on shore. All these affected
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01:08:55,375 --> 01:08:56,916
animals. Not only is it heartbreaking to
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01:08:56,916 --> 01:08:59,166
watch, but it's really difficult as
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01:08:59,166 --> 01:09:01,625
someone who's carrying just like David
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01:09:01,625 --> 01:09:03,000
here, who's carrying the
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01:09:03,000 --> 01:09:03,708
people who are caring for them.
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01:09:03,708 --> 01:09:06,041
They're watching these animals
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01:09:06,041 --> 01:09:08,125
essentially die and suffer when they
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01:09:08,125 --> 01:09:10,958
before they die. It's not an easy thing
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01:09:10,958 --> 01:09:13,333
as a care professional to be able to see.
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01:09:13,750 --> 01:09:16,000
And this is something that needs to stop.
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01:09:16,583 --> 01:09:18,375
How do we stop it? This is four years in
291
01:09:18,375 --> 01:09:21,625
a row that we've seen this type of stuff
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01:09:21,625 --> 01:09:24,458
go on. Not something that's easy to stop.
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01:09:24,666 --> 01:09:27,250
Unfortunately, we could limit nutrient
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01:09:27,250 --> 01:09:29,291
runoff, but at point sources, which is
295
01:09:29,291 --> 01:09:31,000
mean like there's a pipe and that
296
01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:32,708
nutrient goes off. We can limit that by testing what's at the end of the day.
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01:09:32,708 --> 01:09:36,583
But then you have non point source. You
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01:09:36,583 --> 01:09:38,750
have non and appoint or end of pipe
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01:09:38,750 --> 01:09:40,250
sources where it just comes in from
300
01:09:40,250 --> 01:09:41,958
anywhere. And that could be anything that
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01:09:41,958 --> 01:09:43,541
comes in. They're very difficult to
302
01:09:43,541 --> 01:09:45,125
monitor. It's very difficult to find out
303
01:09:45,125 --> 01:09:46,333
what's happening. You'd have to come up
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01:09:46,333 --> 01:09:48,083
with a whole coastal monitoring system to
305
01:09:48,083 --> 01:09:50,458
identify where these high phosphates,
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01:09:50,458 --> 01:09:52,250
high nitrates are coming in. And those
307
01:09:52,250 --> 01:09:53,708
are the limiting factors to have this
308
01:09:53,708 --> 01:09:55,791
algae grow. But really, sea surface
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01:09:55,791 --> 01:09:58,208
temperature increase, you can't control
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01:09:58,208 --> 01:09:59,833
unless you start to reduce climate
311
01:09:59,833 --> 01:10:01,708
change, which is going to take along a very, very long time.
312
01:10:01,750 --> 01:10:06,083
So this is a problem that's going to
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01:10:06,083 --> 01:10:07,916
happen more and more as we as climate
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01:10:07,916 --> 01:10:09,458
change gets worse or as climate change
315
01:10:09,458 --> 01:10:12,000
continues to wreak its ugly head. And we
316
01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:13,708
are going to have this problem. We are
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01:10:13,708 --> 01:10:15,750
going to see more animals die. We're
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01:10:15,750 --> 01:10:20,500
going to see the consequences in our
319
01:10:20,500 --> 01:10:22,791
water systems, the consequences in our
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01:10:22,791 --> 01:10:24,583
shorelines, because we're going to see
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01:10:24,583 --> 01:10:25,916
den animals come in. We've seen it happen
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01:10:25,916 --> 01:10:28,291
in Florida where people go to the beach
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01:10:28,291 --> 01:10:30,708
during these times and this just smells of death. Not a human being.
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01:10:30,708 --> 01:10:34,291
It can affect people with breathing
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01:10:34,291 --> 01:10:36,875
problems. It can affect people in terms
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01:10:36,875 --> 01:10:39,541
of rotting flesh that's on the ground,
327
01:10:39,541 --> 01:10:42,708
rotting skin, rotting animals. Not good
328
01:10:42,708 --> 01:10:44,583
to breathe in. And it's something that we
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01:10:44,583 --> 01:10:46,666
have to monitor. We have to be careful
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01:10:46,666 --> 01:10:48,041
of. And we're not going to be able to go
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01:10:48,041 --> 01:10:49,500
to certain beaches at certain times
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01:10:49,500 --> 01:10:51,625
because of so much death happening and
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01:10:51,625 --> 01:10:52,708
water quality not being good.
334
01:10:52,750 --> 01:10:54,875
Water quality is something that I feel
335
01:10:54,875 --> 01:10:57,000
like here in North America, we take it
336
01:10:57,000 --> 01:11:00,541
for granted. It's not something that once
337
01:11:00,541 --> 01:11:02,083
it gets out of control, it's really
338
01:11:02,083 --> 01:11:05,125
difficult to monitor. Not monitor, but to
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01:11:05,125 --> 01:11:07,333
kind of get back to normal because
340
01:11:07,333 --> 01:11:09,375
especially in a large system like the
341
01:11:09,375 --> 01:11:10,208
ocean, you just don't know
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01:11:10,208 --> 01:11:10,708
where things are coming from.
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01:11:10,708 --> 01:11:13,083
And so we have to make sure that we
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01:11:13,083 --> 01:11:14,625
control with what we can control and
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01:11:14,625 --> 01:11:16,500
control it now. That comes with
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01:11:16,500 --> 01:11:18,708
government action. That comes with
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01:11:18,708 --> 01:11:21,791
businesses and the private sector action.
348
01:11:22,125 --> 01:11:24,125
And that comes with people really taking
349
01:11:24,125 --> 01:11:26,250
climate change seriously, putting people
350
01:11:26,250 --> 01:11:29,250
in, voting people in power that really
351
01:11:29,250 --> 01:11:30,833
take climate change and reduction of
352
01:11:30,833 --> 01:11:32,833
climate change seriously, because we are
353
01:11:32,833 --> 01:11:33,666
going to see these
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01:11:33,666 --> 01:11:35,708
consequences all of the time.
355
01:11:36,708 --> 01:11:37,750
Increase the surface temperatures
356
01:11:37,750 --> 01:11:40,166
directly related to climate change. We're
357
01:11:40,166 --> 01:11:42,083
seeing this increase all the time. And
358
01:11:42,083 --> 01:11:43,625
this has happened four years in a row.
359
01:11:43,958 --> 01:11:45,625
Democas is happening long. Like this
360
01:11:45,625 --> 01:11:47,541
toxicity is happening longer and longer
361
01:11:47,541 --> 01:11:49,541
every year. And this is not going to stop
362
01:11:49,541 --> 01:11:51,291
until we get climate change under
363
01:11:51,291 --> 01:11:54,000
control. Not a fun story to share. It's
364
01:11:54,000 --> 01:11:55,958
not something that I wanted to share, but
365
01:11:55,958 --> 01:11:56,541
it's something that I
366
01:11:56,541 --> 01:11:58,708
feel like we need to watch.
367
01:11:58,916 --> 01:12:01,875
We need to make sure that sea lions like
368
01:12:01,875 --> 01:12:05,416
this one is, you know, under is safe and
369
01:12:05,416 --> 01:12:08,791
it can enjoy eating sardines and eating
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01:12:08,791 --> 01:12:10,833
other and like fish like anchovies
371
01:12:10,833 --> 01:12:13,583
without having to worry about being sick.
372
01:12:14,000 --> 01:12:14,708
This is what they eat.
373
01:12:14,750 --> 01:12:16,750
And, you know, we've protected sea lions
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01:12:16,750 --> 01:12:19,500
before with the man with the Magnus
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01:12:19,500 --> 01:12:22,416
Carter Carter law. I think it's the
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01:12:22,416 --> 01:12:24,416
fishing fisheries law that we have and
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01:12:24,416 --> 01:12:26,125
brought sea lions back together, which
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01:12:26,125 --> 01:12:27,541
helped bring great white shark
379
01:12:27,541 --> 01:12:30,000
populations back. And these are animals
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01:12:30,000 --> 01:12:31,666
that we need to protect. And now that
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01:12:31,666 --> 01:12:33,708
there's a water quality issue, this is
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01:12:33,708 --> 01:12:35,416
really it's going to be a lot harder to
383
01:12:35,416 --> 01:12:36,666
protect. And we're really going to have
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01:12:36,666 --> 01:12:40,333
to watch how we treat water quality in
385
01:12:40,333 --> 01:12:42,791
the future. And it's something that is
386
01:12:42,791 --> 01:12:43,708
not going to be easy to do because it works.
387
01:12:44,750 --> 01:12:54,666
Just a few things could
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01:12:54,666 --> 01:12:59,458
be too different for..."
389
01:13:14,708 --> 01:13:16,291
we need to talk about because sometimes
390
01:13:16,291 --> 01:13:17,875
talking about the ocean and
391
01:13:17,875 --> 01:13:19,083
looking at ocean conservation
392
01:13:19,250 --> 01:13:21,541
is not easy and we have to attack it.
393
01:13:21,541 --> 01:13:23,375
Some of the things that you can do to
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01:13:23,375 --> 01:13:25,000
make it better is stay
395
01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:26,291
informed, keep a rest of
396
01:13:26,291 --> 01:13:28,125
what's happening and local advisories
397
01:13:28,125 --> 01:13:30,125
about algal blooms and affected areas.
398
01:13:30,125 --> 01:13:32,000
You can volunteer at the Marine Mammal
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01:13:32,000 --> 01:13:33,166
Center if they require
400
01:13:33,166 --> 01:13:34,083
it, if they need the help.
401
01:13:34,416 --> 01:13:36,250
You can support the rescue efforts by
402
01:13:36,250 --> 01:13:37,458
considering donating to the
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01:13:37,458 --> 01:13:39,000
organizations like the Marine
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01:13:39,000 --> 01:13:39,875
Mammal Care Center.
405
01:13:40,250 --> 01:13:40,666
And of course, you
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01:13:40,666 --> 01:13:41,791
can advocate for change.
407
01:13:41,833 --> 01:13:43,750
So support policies aimed at reducing
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01:13:43,750 --> 01:13:45,583
carbon emissions and controlling
409
01:13:45,583 --> 01:13:47,166
agricultural runoff.
410
01:13:47,416 --> 01:13:48,916
So every action counts.
411
01:13:48,916 --> 01:13:50,041
You don't have to just choose one.
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01:13:50,041 --> 01:13:51,500
You can choose all of them, staying
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01:13:51,500 --> 01:13:52,833
informed and staying involved.
414
01:13:53,250 --> 01:13:54,333
And then of course, we can all contribute
415
01:13:54,333 --> 01:13:54,958
to the health of our
416
01:13:54,958 --> 01:13:56,166
oceans and the creatures
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01:13:56,166 --> 01:13:57,791
that inhabit them like sea lions,
418
01:13:57,791 --> 01:13:59,083
dolphins and seabirds,
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01:13:59,541 --> 01:14:01,000
something those predators are
420
01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:02,833
important to our ecosystem.
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01:14:03,500 --> 01:14:05,166
It's important to keep those food webs
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01:14:05,166 --> 01:14:07,666
healthy and maintain those to help
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01:14:07,666 --> 01:14:08,750
maintain our coastlines
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01:14:08,916 --> 01:14:10,291
and maintain the oceans health, which
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01:14:10,291 --> 01:14:12,041
helps maintain our health.
426
01:14:12,041 --> 01:14:13,250
So that's it for today's episode.
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01:14:13,541 --> 01:14:14,791
If you have any questions or comments and
428
01:14:14,791 --> 01:14:15,333
you're watching this on
429
01:14:15,333 --> 01:14:16,708
YouTube, leave a comment
430
01:14:16,750 --> 01:14:17,166
below.
431
01:14:17,666 --> 01:14:19,791
If you are wanting to get a hold of me,
432
01:14:19,791 --> 01:14:20,250
you can go to
433
01:14:20,250 --> 01:14:22,541
speakupforblue.com, fill out the
434
01:14:22,708 --> 01:14:24,750
contact page, go to speakupforblue.com
435
01:14:24,750 --> 01:14:25,625
forward slash contact,
436
01:14:26,000 --> 01:14:26,708
fill out the page, it goes
437
01:14:26,708 --> 01:14:28,375
right directly to my email or you can DM
438
01:14:28,375 --> 01:14:30,333
me on Instagram at how
439
01:14:30,333 --> 01:14:31,208
to protect the ocean.
440
01:14:31,875 --> 01:14:33,875
That's out at how to protect the ocean.
441
01:14:34,250 --> 01:14:35,958
So if you want to get a hold of me,
442
01:14:35,958 --> 01:14:38,041
here's the sheet so you can do so.
443
01:14:38,625 --> 01:14:39,583
But I want to thank you so much for
444
01:14:39,583 --> 01:14:40,416
listening to this episode
445
01:14:40,416 --> 01:14:41,250
of the how to protect the
446
01:14:41,250 --> 01:14:41,791
ocean podcast.
447
01:14:42,083 --> 01:14:42,625
Have a great day.
448
01:14:42,625 --> 01:14:43,166
We'll talk to you next
449
01:14:43,166 --> 01:14:44,458
time and happy conservation.
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:02,541
(upbeat music)
2
01:00:04,541 --> 01:00:05,708
On today's episode of the How
3
01:00:05,708 --> 01:00:06,625
to Protect the Ocean podcast,
4
01:00:06,625 --> 01:00:08,625
we're gonna be talking about a story
5
01:00:09,250 --> 01:00:12,291
that has to do with damoic acid.
6
01:00:12,791 --> 01:00:13,166
You're probably
7
01:00:13,166 --> 01:00:15,041
wondering what is damoic acid?
8
01:00:15,041 --> 01:00:16,041
It's actually something
9
01:00:16,041 --> 01:00:17,791
that causes marine mammals
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01:00:17,958 --> 01:00:20,333
to die off the Pacific West Coast
11
01:00:20,791 --> 01:00:22,458
or the West Coast of North America.
12
01:00:22,708 --> 01:00:23,291
We're gonna be talking
13
01:00:23,291 --> 01:00:24,916
about what's happened happening
14
01:00:25,375 --> 01:00:27,583
to sea lions, dolphins,
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01:00:27,583 --> 01:00:28,583
and other marine mammals,
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01:00:29,250 --> 01:00:32,125
and seabirds that is causing a lot of
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01:00:32,125 --> 01:00:35,041
people some concern.
18
01:00:35,333 --> 01:00:35,916
We're gonna talk about
19
01:00:35,916 --> 01:00:37,583
that on today's episode
20
01:00:38,083 --> 01:00:39,833
of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
21
01:00:40,333 --> 01:00:42,375
So let's get into it.
22
01:00:42,375 --> 01:00:44,083
Hey everybody, my name is Andrew Lewin.
23
01:00:44,083 --> 01:00:45,833
Welcome to the How to
24
01:00:45,833 --> 01:00:46,541
Protect the Ocean podcast.
25
01:00:46,833 --> 01:00:47,291
I'm your host.
26
01:00:47,791 --> 01:00:48,500
And this is the
27
01:00:48,500 --> 01:00:49,250
podcast where you find out
28
01:00:49,250 --> 01:00:50,333
what's happening with the ocean,
29
01:00:50,333 --> 01:00:51,916
how you can speak up for the ocean,
30
01:00:51,916 --> 01:00:52,916
and what you can do to
31
01:00:52,916 --> 01:00:54,541
live for a better ocean
32
01:00:54,833 --> 01:00:56,291
by taking action.
33
01:00:56,750 --> 01:00:57,458
On today's episode,
34
01:00:57,458 --> 01:00:58,750
we're gonna be talking about
35
01:00:59,041 --> 01:01:01,666
damoic acid and why this toxic algae
36
01:01:01,958 --> 01:01:03,583
is causing damoic acid to
37
01:01:03,583 --> 01:01:05,208
actually affect the lives
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01:01:05,416 --> 01:01:06,833
of sea lions, marine
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01:01:06,833 --> 01:01:08,166
mammals, and other marine mammals,
40
01:01:08,500 --> 01:01:10,041
such as dolphins and whales,
41
01:01:10,541 --> 01:01:11,750
and how this has been
42
01:01:11,750 --> 01:01:13,458
going on for a lot longer
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01:01:13,833 --> 01:01:14,708
than it has before.
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01:01:15,375 --> 01:01:16,750
Four years ago, we started
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01:01:16,750 --> 01:01:19,250
to detect this toxic algae
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01:01:19,541 --> 01:01:23,458
in the waters off the Pacific Coast,
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01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:26,291
off the West Coast of North America,
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01:01:26,666 --> 01:01:27,791
in particular California,
49
01:01:28,333 --> 01:01:29,541
and that's caused a lot
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01:01:29,541 --> 01:01:31,500
of concern for some people.
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01:01:31,958 --> 01:01:33,791
And we want to talk about it today,
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01:01:33,791 --> 01:01:35,291
because I want to kind of go through
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01:01:35,791 --> 01:01:38,833
and discuss a little bit about what this
54
01:01:38,833 --> 01:01:40,041
is all about, right?
55
01:01:41,083 --> 01:01:43,458
Just to talk about what damoic acid is
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01:01:43,458 --> 01:01:45,000
and how it affects the body.
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01:01:45,458 --> 01:01:47,958
The damoic acid is a neurotoxin produced
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01:01:48,166 --> 01:01:49,708
by certain algal blooms,
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01:01:49,708 --> 01:01:50,708
particularly those involving
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01:01:50,708 --> 01:01:53,916
algae of the pseudonicisia.
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01:01:53,916 --> 01:01:55,125
I think I pronounced that properly.
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01:01:56,000 --> 01:01:57,333
When these blooms occur,
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01:01:57,833 --> 01:02:00,500
the toxin can accumulate in small fish
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01:02:00,500 --> 01:02:02,250
like sardines and anchovies,
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01:02:02,625 --> 01:02:03,583
and then marine mammals,
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01:02:03,875 --> 01:02:05,416
such as sea lions and dolphins,
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01:02:05,541 --> 01:02:06,583
will consume these
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01:02:06,583 --> 01:02:08,333
fish leading to poisoning,
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01:02:08,333 --> 01:02:09,666
it leads to bioaccumulation.
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01:02:09,958 --> 01:02:11,250
So these tiny, tiny
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01:02:11,250 --> 01:02:13,708
fish will have a little bit
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01:02:13,708 --> 01:02:16,916
of this neurotoxin, this algae in it,
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01:02:16,916 --> 01:02:17,833
because that's what it eats,
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01:02:18,125 --> 01:02:19,708
and then that gets eaten
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01:02:19,708 --> 01:02:21,458
by larger marine mammals,
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01:02:21,458 --> 01:02:22,708
such as sea lions and dolphins.
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01:02:23,125 --> 01:02:24,291
They start to accumulate
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01:02:24,291 --> 01:02:26,250
as they eat many, many fish.
79
01:02:26,416 --> 01:02:27,208
They start to accumulate
80
01:02:27,208 --> 01:02:29,000
that toxin in the body,
81
01:02:29,375 --> 01:02:30,750
and it starts to get really, really bad,
82
01:02:30,750 --> 01:02:32,000
and it starts to lead to poisoning.
83
01:02:32,333 --> 01:02:34,416
So the affected animals exhibit symptoms
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01:02:34,416 --> 01:02:35,750
like disorientation,
85
01:02:36,166 --> 01:02:38,291
lethargy, and seizures.
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01:02:38,750 --> 01:02:39,458
Some display even
87
01:02:39,458 --> 01:02:41,500
behavior known as stargazing,
88
01:02:41,791 --> 01:02:42,625
where they tilt their
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01:02:42,625 --> 01:02:44,958
heads back and gaze upwards,
90
01:02:45,750 --> 01:02:48,625
telltale sign of damoic acid poisoning.
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01:02:49,083 --> 01:02:51,000
So in recent months, these are months,
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01:02:51,333 --> 01:02:54,458
not just a couple of weeks,
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the situation has escalated.
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01:02:57,208 --> 01:02:59,041
Rescue centers, such as the California,
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01:02:59,041 --> 01:03:00,083
off the California coast,
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01:03:00,083 --> 01:03:00,791
as the Marine Mammal
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01:03:00,791 --> 01:03:02,041
Center, are overwhelmed.
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The Marine Mammal Care
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01:03:03,375 --> 01:03:05,000
Center in Los Angeles,
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01:03:05,000 --> 01:03:05,875
for instance, has been
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01:03:05,875 --> 01:03:07,208
inundated with cases,
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hundreds of cases.
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David Bader, which you're
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01:03:09,666 --> 01:03:10,708
gonna hear from in a video
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that I've got queued up in a little bit,
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he's a marine biologist at the center,
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reported that there have been over 70
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01:03:15,375 --> 01:03:16,333
animals in their care
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01:03:16,333 --> 01:03:18,000
just in that particular location,
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01:03:18,541 --> 01:03:19,375
most suffering from
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01:03:19,375 --> 01:03:20,875
damoic acid poisoning.
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01:03:21,166 --> 01:03:22,541
So this is a big
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problem that's happening.
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I wanna play the video to
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give you a little bit more.
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It's affecting sea lions, dolphins,
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01:03:30,333 --> 01:03:31,375
and you're gonna see in this clip,
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it actually is affecting
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birds as well, sea birds as well.
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01:03:35,958 --> 01:03:36,708
So we're gonna hear a
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little bit about it.
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So just, I'm gonna just talk about,
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I'm gonna queue it up here.
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Oops.
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Still getting used to the software.
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All right, let's just queue it up.
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Here we go.
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Struggling what this
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01:03:51,583 --> 01:03:53,666
toxin does to these animals
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and what environmental
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01:03:54,583 --> 01:03:55,958
factors could be contributing
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to these algae blooms
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that we've been seeing.
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Damoic acid is a neurotoxin.
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It affects obviously
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nerves, brain functions,
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and organ function as well.
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It causes things like seizures.
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01:04:09,583 --> 01:04:11,250
You saw that a pelican
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kind of weaving its head.
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So, you know,
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repetitive behaviors like that.
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We see that in sea lions as well.
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Unfortunately, it can also cause death.
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01:04:19,916 --> 01:04:21,041
This particular boom has
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01:04:21,041 --> 01:04:22,125
been particularly legal
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01:04:22,375 --> 01:04:24,416
for local marine life.
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01:04:24,916 --> 01:04:26,833
Sea birds, dolphins, and
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01:04:26,833 --> 01:04:28,833
sea lions have been impacted.
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It's been going on
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about 10 weeks right now.
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We believe that, you know,
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ocean conditions are
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changing because of climate change,
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01:04:38,583 --> 01:04:39,500
ocean acidification,
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and the vitrification
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of our coastal ocean.
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We're shifting the ocean's chemistry,
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01:04:44,958 --> 01:04:47,958
and it's favoring these formations of
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these kinds of blooms.
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What contributes to it?
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Is there anything from our recent
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01:04:51,875 --> 01:04:53,583
wildfires and some of the debris that's
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01:04:53,583 --> 01:04:54,583
ended up in the water that's
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01:04:54,583 --> 01:04:55,750
contributing to this as well?
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01:04:56,791 --> 01:04:58,750
So the major driving factors of this,
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01:04:58,750 --> 01:04:59,541
again, are climate
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change, ocean acidification,
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but also neutrification.
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So runoff, any kind of runoff, is going
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to contribute to these blooms.
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01:05:07,333 --> 01:05:09,708
The fires certainly had, you
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01:05:09,708 --> 01:05:11,083
know, maybe some nutrients,
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excess nutrients
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01:05:11,916 --> 01:05:13,500
coming in from, you know,
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01:05:14,500 --> 01:05:16,458
possibly the fire retardants
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01:05:16,458 --> 01:05:17,916
might have had some of that.
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01:05:18,916 --> 01:05:19,791
All runoff though
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01:05:19,791 --> 01:05:21,291
contributes nutrients to the ocean.
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01:05:22,000 --> 01:05:24,541
And this is actually year four of a
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01:05:24,541 --> 01:05:26,125
massive bloom just like this.
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01:05:26,916 --> 01:05:28,666
So the fires might have
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01:05:28,666 --> 01:05:29,791
contributed a little bit,
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01:05:30,083 --> 01:05:32,458
but the major driving factors are beyond
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01:05:32,458 --> 01:05:33,500
just that one event.
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01:05:33,875 --> 01:05:35,416
So this is something we really need to be
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01:05:35,416 --> 01:05:36,500
paying attention to.
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01:05:36,500 --> 01:05:37,625
If we've entered the fourth
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01:05:37,625 --> 01:05:39,458
year now, I see, you know,
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01:05:39,458 --> 01:05:41,083
some of your workers here
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01:05:41,083 --> 01:05:42,541
trying to care for these animals.
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01:05:43,000 --> 01:05:44,916
Can you just talk about what type of
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01:05:44,916 --> 01:05:46,375
impact this has, you
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01:05:46,375 --> 01:05:47,333
know, even on your center?
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01:05:48,583 --> 01:05:51,625
Yeah, well, on the center, we budget in a
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01:05:51,625 --> 01:05:53,750
year for 300 patients
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01:05:53,750 --> 01:05:54,833
over the course of a year.
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01:05:55,583 --> 01:05:58,375
We're just now in April and we've already
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01:05:58,375 --> 01:05:59,875
seen over 300 patients.
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So impacts on us are certainly financial.
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I'm just going to stop it there because,
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you know, we get the picture
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01:06:09,083 --> 01:06:10,250
in terms of what's happening.
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01:06:11,000 --> 01:06:12,333
I'm going to put a link in the show notes
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01:06:12,333 --> 01:06:13,333
if you want to support the
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01:06:13,333 --> 01:06:14,166
Marine Mammal Care Center,
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01:06:14,166 --> 01:06:15,375
because I think it's really important.
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01:06:15,916 --> 01:06:17,208
You mentioned there that financial
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01:06:17,208 --> 01:06:18,541
resources are tight because there have
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01:06:18,541 --> 01:06:19,500
been so many animals.
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01:06:19,500 --> 01:06:20,500
They only have a certain amount of
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01:06:20,500 --> 01:06:21,583
funding and they can only
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01:06:21,583 --> 01:06:23,125
handle what they budget for.
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01:06:23,125 --> 01:06:26,708
And they don't budget for this type of
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01:06:26,708 --> 01:06:27,958
incident, especially an
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01:06:27,958 --> 01:06:30,458
incident that lasts so, so long.
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01:06:31,250 --> 01:06:33,333
Normally when you get toxic algae blooms,
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like red algal blooms, you get, it lasts
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01:06:36,041 --> 01:06:37,916
maybe for a few weeks, maybe a month.
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01:06:37,916 --> 01:06:38,708
This has been happening
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01:06:38,708 --> 01:06:40,250
for over a couple of months.
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01:06:40,791 --> 01:06:42,333
We're probably into the third or fourth
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01:06:42,333 --> 01:06:43,333
month that has been happening.
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01:06:43,750 --> 01:06:45,625
And we're starting to see more and more
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01:06:45,625 --> 01:06:48,708
animals die in the care and more and more
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01:06:48,708 --> 01:06:49,333
animals being
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01:06:49,333 --> 01:06:51,208
affected along the coastline.
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01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:53,583
So, you know, the root causes you talked
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01:06:53,583 --> 01:06:55,625
about is not only harmful algal blooms,
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but they're complex.
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Climate change plays a significant role.
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Essentially how these algal blooms form
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is because of the heat in the water.
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The temperature of the water allows for
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these toxic algal blooms to form in ways
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that we've never seen before.
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01:07:10,750 --> 01:07:12,500
Right. We haven't seen this amount and
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this, this length in a long time when you
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have algal blooms or you have algae that
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feed off of temperature off of a specific
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01:07:22,083 --> 01:07:23,208
amount of nutrients like
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nitrates and phosphates.
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And this is what happens essentially. You
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just get this perfect combination of
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conditions. Sea surface temperatures up,
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01:07:47,666 --> 01:07:49,916
you get nutrient runoff, enough of
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01:07:49,916 --> 01:07:50,750
nutrient runoff to
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support a bloom of this algae.
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It's just a plant and it blooms. And then
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what happens is it just blooms so much
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that eventually they all die off and they
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come to the shore or they get eaten by
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01:08:02,833 --> 01:08:05,500
sardines. They get eaten by sea lions.
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They get eaten by dolphins and so forth
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and seabirds. And then those start to
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01:08:10,500 --> 01:08:12,750
die. Those are the triggers and sort of
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the indicators of what's happening.
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They are the canary in the coal mine when
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it comes to these toxic algal blooms.
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Now we're lucky that we have testing with
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fisheries. So shellfish and other fish so
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that we don't get the humans who ingest
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01:08:25,958 --> 01:08:28,125
seafood that would get affected by this
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don't get poisoned because
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testing is really important.
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But sometimes that testing fails and you
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get people who have democ acid toxicity
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01:08:36,250 --> 01:08:38,541
and they can die from it. It has happened
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01:08:38,541 --> 01:08:39,583
before or less now because
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01:08:39,583 --> 01:08:39,708
we know what to look for.
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But especially cases like this, I'm sure
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it's affecting the seafood industry along
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01:08:44,958 --> 01:08:46,708
the shore. So it's affecting the economy.
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It's affecting the health of the animals.
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It's potentially
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affecting the health of people.
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And it's something that you don't want to
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be around with all these dead animals
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coming up on shore. All these affected
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01:08:55,375 --> 01:08:56,916
animals. Not only is it heartbreaking to
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01:08:56,916 --> 01:08:59,166
watch, but it's really difficult as
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01:08:59,166 --> 01:09:01,625
someone who's carrying just like David
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01:09:01,625 --> 01:09:03,000
here, who's carrying the
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people who are caring for them.
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They're watching these animals
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essentially die and suffer when they
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01:09:08,125 --> 01:09:10,958
before they die. It's not an easy thing
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01:09:10,958 --> 01:09:13,333
as a care professional to be able to see.
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01:09:13,750 --> 01:09:16,000
And this is something that needs to stop.
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01:09:16,583 --> 01:09:18,375
How do we stop it? This is four years in
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01:09:18,375 --> 01:09:21,625
a row that we've seen this type of stuff
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01:09:21,625 --> 01:09:24,458
go on. Not something that's easy to stop.
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01:09:24,666 --> 01:09:27,250
Unfortunately, we could limit nutrient
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01:09:27,250 --> 01:09:29,291
runoff, but at point sources, which is
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01:09:29,291 --> 01:09:31,000
mean like there's a pipe and that
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01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:32,708
nutrient goes off. We can limit that by testing what's at the end of the day.
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01:09:32,708 --> 01:09:36,583
But then you have non point source. You
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01:09:36,583 --> 01:09:38,750
have non and appoint or end of pipe
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01:09:38,750 --> 01:09:40,250
sources where it just comes in from
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01:09:40,250 --> 01:09:41,958
anywhere. And that could be anything that
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01:09:41,958 --> 01:09:43,541
comes in. They're very difficult to
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01:09:43,541 --> 01:09:45,125
monitor. It's very difficult to find out
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01:09:45,125 --> 01:09:46,333
what's happening. You'd have to come up
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01:09:46,333 --> 01:09:48,083
with a whole coastal monitoring system to
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01:09:48,083 --> 01:09:50,458
identify where these high phosphates,
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01:09:50,458 --> 01:09:52,250
high nitrates are coming in. And those
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01:09:52,250 --> 01:09:53,708
are the limiting factors to have this
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01:09:53,708 --> 01:09:55,791
algae grow. But really, sea surface
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01:09:55,791 --> 01:09:58,208
temperature increase, you can't control
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01:09:58,208 --> 01:09:59,833
unless you start to reduce climate
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01:09:59,833 --> 01:10:01,708
change, which is going to take along a very, very long time.
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01:10:01,750 --> 01:10:06,083
So this is a problem that's going to
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01:10:06,083 --> 01:10:07,916
happen more and more as we as climate
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01:10:07,916 --> 01:10:09,458
change gets worse or as climate change
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01:10:09,458 --> 01:10:12,000
continues to wreak its ugly head. And we
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01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:13,708
are going to have this problem. We are
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01:10:13,708 --> 01:10:15,750
going to see more animals die. We're
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01:10:15,750 --> 01:10:20,500
going to see the consequences in our
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01:10:20,500 --> 01:10:22,791
water systems, the consequences in our
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01:10:22,791 --> 01:10:24,583
shorelines, because we're going to see
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01:10:24,583 --> 01:10:25,916
den animals come in. We've seen it happen
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01:10:25,916 --> 01:10:28,291
in Florida where people go to the beach
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01:10:28,291 --> 01:10:30,708
during these times and this just smells of death. Not a human being.
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01:10:30,708 --> 01:10:34,291
It can affect people with breathing
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01:10:34,291 --> 01:10:36,875
problems. It can affect people in terms
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01:10:36,875 --> 01:10:39,541
of rotting flesh that's on the ground,
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01:10:39,541 --> 01:10:42,708
rotting skin, rotting animals. Not good
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01:10:42,708 --> 01:10:44,583
to breathe in. And it's something that we
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01:10:44,583 --> 01:10:46,666
have to monitor. We have to be careful
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01:10:46,666 --> 01:10:48,041
of. And we're not going to be able to go
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01:10:48,041 --> 01:10:49,500
to certain beaches at certain times
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because of so much death happening and
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01:10:51,625 --> 01:10:52,708
water quality not being good.
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01:10:52,750 --> 01:10:54,875
Water quality is something that I feel
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01:10:54,875 --> 01:10:57,000
like here in North America, we take it
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01:10:57,000 --> 01:11:00,541
for granted. It's not something that once
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01:11:00,541 --> 01:11:02,083
it gets out of control, it's really
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01:11:02,083 --> 01:11:05,125
difficult to monitor. Not monitor, but to
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01:11:05,125 --> 01:11:07,333
kind of get back to normal because
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01:11:07,333 --> 01:11:09,375
especially in a large system like the
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01:11:09,375 --> 01:11:10,208
ocean, you just don't know
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01:11:10,208 --> 01:11:10,708
where things are coming from.
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01:11:10,708 --> 01:11:13,083
And so we have to make sure that we
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01:11:13,083 --> 01:11:14,625
control with what we can control and
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01:11:14,625 --> 01:11:16,500
control it now. That comes with
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01:11:16,500 --> 01:11:18,708
government action. That comes with
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01:11:18,708 --> 01:11:21,791
businesses and the private sector action.
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01:11:22,125 --> 01:11:24,125
And that comes with people really taking
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01:11:24,125 --> 01:11:26,250
climate change seriously, putting people
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01:11:26,250 --> 01:11:29,250
in, voting people in power that really
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01:11:29,250 --> 01:11:30,833
take climate change and reduction of
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01:11:30,833 --> 01:11:32,833
climate change seriously, because we are
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01:11:32,833 --> 01:11:33,666
going to see these
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01:11:33,666 --> 01:11:35,708
consequences all of the time.
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01:11:36,708 --> 01:11:37,750
Increase the surface temperatures
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01:11:37,750 --> 01:11:40,166
directly related to climate change. We're
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01:11:40,166 --> 01:11:42,083
seeing this increase all the time. And
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01:11:42,083 --> 01:11:43,625
this has happened four years in a row.
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01:11:43,958 --> 01:11:45,625
Democas is happening long. Like this
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01:11:45,625 --> 01:11:47,541
toxicity is happening longer and longer
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01:11:47,541 --> 01:11:49,541
every year. And this is not going to stop
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01:11:49,541 --> 01:11:51,291
until we get climate change under
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01:11:51,291 --> 01:11:54,000
control. Not a fun story to share. It's
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01:11:54,000 --> 01:11:55,958
not something that I wanted to share, but
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01:11:55,958 --> 01:11:56,541
it's something that I
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01:11:56,541 --> 01:11:58,708
feel like we need to watch.
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We need to make sure that sea lions like
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this one is, you know, under is safe and
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it can enjoy eating sardines and eating
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other and like fish like anchovies
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without having to worry about being sick.
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This is what they eat.
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And, you know, we've protected sea lions
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before with the man with the Magnus
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Carter Carter law. I think it's the
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fishing fisheries law that we have and
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01:12:24,416 --> 01:12:26,125
brought sea lions back together, which
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01:12:26,125 --> 01:12:27,541
helped bring great white shark
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01:12:27,541 --> 01:12:30,000
populations back. And these are animals
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that we need to protect. And now that
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there's a water quality issue, this is
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01:12:33,708 --> 01:12:35,416
really it's going to be a lot harder to
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protect. And we're really going to have
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to watch how we treat water quality in
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01:12:40,333 --> 01:12:42,791
the future. And it's something that is
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01:12:42,791 --> 01:12:43,708
not going to be easy to do because it works.
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01:12:44,750 --> 01:12:54,666
Just a few things could
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01:12:54,666 --> 01:12:59,458
be too different for..."
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01:13:14,708 --> 01:13:16,291
we need to talk about because sometimes
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01:13:16,291 --> 01:13:17,875
talking about the ocean and
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01:13:17,875 --> 01:13:19,083
looking at ocean conservation
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is not easy and we have to attack it.
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01:13:21,541 --> 01:13:23,375
Some of the things that you can do to
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01:13:23,375 --> 01:13:25,000
make it better is stay
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01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:26,291
informed, keep a rest of
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01:13:26,291 --> 01:13:28,125
what's happening and local advisories
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01:13:28,125 --> 01:13:30,125
about algal blooms and affected areas.
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01:13:30,125 --> 01:13:32,000
You can volunteer at the Marine Mammal
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01:13:32,000 --> 01:13:33,166
Center if they require
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01:13:33,166 --> 01:13:34,083
it, if they need the help.
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01:13:34,416 --> 01:13:36,250
You can support the rescue efforts by
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01:13:36,250 --> 01:13:37,458
considering donating to the
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01:13:37,458 --> 01:13:39,000
organizations like the Marine
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01:13:39,000 --> 01:13:39,875
Mammal Care Center.
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01:13:40,250 --> 01:13:40,666
And of course, you
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01:13:40,666 --> 01:13:41,791
can advocate for change.
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01:13:41,833 --> 01:13:43,750
So support policies aimed at reducing
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01:13:43,750 --> 01:13:45,583
carbon emissions and controlling
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01:13:45,583 --> 01:13:47,166
agricultural runoff.
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01:13:47,416 --> 01:13:48,916
So every action counts.
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01:13:48,916 --> 01:13:50,041
You don't have to just choose one.
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01:13:50,041 --> 01:13:51,500
You can choose all of them, staying
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01:13:51,500 --> 01:13:52,833
informed and staying involved.
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01:13:53,250 --> 01:13:54,333
And then of course, we can all contribute
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01:13:54,333 --> 01:13:54,958
to the health of our
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01:13:54,958 --> 01:13:56,166
oceans and the creatures
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01:13:56,166 --> 01:13:57,791
that inhabit them like sea lions,
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01:13:57,791 --> 01:13:59,083
dolphins and seabirds,
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01:13:59,541 --> 01:14:01,000
something those predators are
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01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:02,833
important to our ecosystem.
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01:14:03,500 --> 01:14:05,166
It's important to keep those food webs
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01:14:05,166 --> 01:14:07,666
healthy and maintain those to help
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01:14:07,666 --> 01:14:08,750
maintain our coastlines
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01:14:08,916 --> 01:14:10,291
and maintain the oceans health, which
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01:14:10,291 --> 01:14:12,041
helps maintain our health.
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01:14:12,041 --> 01:14:13,250
So that's it for today's episode.
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01:14:13,541 --> 01:14:14,791
If you have any questions or comments and
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01:14:14,791 --> 01:14:15,333
you're watching this on
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01:14:15,333 --> 01:14:16,708
YouTube, leave a comment
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01:14:16,750 --> 01:14:17,166
below.
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01:14:17,666 --> 01:14:19,791
If you are wanting to get a hold of me,
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01:14:19,791 --> 01:14:20,250
you can go to
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01:14:20,250 --> 01:14:22,541
speakupforblue.com, fill out the
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01:14:22,708 --> 01:14:24,750
contact page, go to speakupforblue.com
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01:14:24,750 --> 01:14:25,625
forward slash contact,
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01:14:26,000 --> 01:14:26,708
fill out the page, it goes
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01:14:26,708 --> 01:14:28,375
right directly to my email or you can DM
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01:14:28,375 --> 01:14:30,333
me on Instagram at how
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01:14:30,333 --> 01:14:31,208
to protect the ocean.
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01:14:31,875 --> 01:14:33,875
That's out at how to protect the ocean.
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01:14:34,250 --> 01:14:35,958
So if you want to get a hold of me,
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01:14:35,958 --> 01:14:38,041
here's the sheet so you can do so.
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01:14:38,625 --> 01:14:39,583
But I want to thank you so much for
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01:14:39,583 --> 01:14:40,416
listening to this episode
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01:14:40,416 --> 01:14:41,250
of the how to protect the
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01:14:41,250 --> 01:14:41,791
ocean podcast.
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01:14:42,083 --> 01:14:42,625
Have a great day.
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01:14:42,625 --> 01:14:43,166
We'll talk to you next
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01:14:43,166 --> 01:14:44,458
time and happy conservation.
