Dolphin Death Outbreak: High Alert After Sick Dolphins Wash Ashore On Southern California Coast

Rescue teams and experts are on high alert after an alarming number of dolphins, either dead or so sick that they had to be euthanized, have been washing along the shores of Southern California.

Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) over a two-week period in February responded to six beached dolphins along the Orange County coast — a sharp uptick compared to recent years. The center told International Business Times that they reported four total dolphin deaths in 2017 and 11 total dolphin deaths in 2018.

Experts do not know why dolphins are washing ashore. PMMC Events and Public Relations Coordinator Krysta Higuchi told Los Angeles' CBS affiliate that the cause could be "anything from viruses to bacteria to toxins."

PMCC cited that "according to Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, recent harmful algae blooms have been occurring along the Southern California Coast. These blooms can produce domoic acid, a poison that is toxic for humans, marine mammals and seabirds when ingested."

A 2017 report from the Environmental Protection Agency lists the region's water quality as "impaired."

Pollutants found within the water include pesticides, DDT, "copper and other metals, fecal coliform, pathogens, PCBs, sediment toxicity and selenium."

Runoff from recent rains caused by storm systems plaguing the West Coast isn't helping the matter.

"I saw how filthy the oceans were after the rain, it was was brown and red. I would not go in there," Noelle Reyna, a Newport Beach resident, told CBSLA.

According to PMMC, there are an estimated 323 common bottlenose dolphins populating the California coastline. The population within 300 miles of the West Coast could be as high as 3,000.