Pacific Ocean off California coast turning into desert-like dead zone

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.

Pacific Ocean compared to a ‘war zone’ as sea life ecosystem collapses; radioactive waste continues to pour into the ocean

(NaturalNews) From San Diego to San Francisco, hundreds of sea lions have been washing ashore – dead and dying.

“You could equate it to a war zone,” said Keith Matassa of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, noting that the center gets “hundreds of rescue calls a day.”

In just the first three months of 2015, already more than 1,800 sea lions have washed up on California beaches – 1,100 in March alone. Most of them are starving juveniles, often riddled with parasites or sick from pneumonia. They have even turned up in people’s backyards, apparently desperately seeking food or some kind of assistance.

TV: “Animals basically dying on our beaches” along West Coast — “New, worse calamity seems to be unfolding” — Experts: “Like walking skeletons”; “So hungry they gnaw on rocks”; “Skin hanging off”; “Extremely unusual… maybe the fish have all left”; “Prepare for the worst” (VIDEOS)

Fox San Diego, Jan 27, 2015 (emphasis added): SeaWorld rescue teams have taken in more than 50 baby sea lions stranded on San Diego shores… “Their skin is so loose hanging off them, it looks like they’re wearing pajamas” [said SeaWorld’s] Jody Wetberg…

LA Times, Jan 30, 2015: “Their growth is stunted,” said Shawn Johnson… at the Marine Mammal Center… “They’re basically starved to death — no muscle, no fat, just skin and bones.”… January 2015, however, has been “extremely unusual” for the Northern California center, he said. In winter, the sea lion population is concentrated in Southern California, then shifts northward in late summer, Johnson said. So for the center to see so many animals is cause for further concern… “Maybe the fish have all left, and that’s why this is happening.”