Harmful algal blooms producing domoic acid cause mass strandings of California sea lions with neurological damage, requiring large-scale rehabilitation responses.
Domoic acid poisoning causes severe neurological suffering - sea lions seized on beaches are experiencing status epilepticus, unable to control their bodies. The disorientation and continuous seizure activity is acutely distressing. Animals that survive acute poisoning with hippocampal damage develop chronic epilepsy, living with recurrent seizures for the rest of their lives. The increasing frequency of harmful algal blooms from ocean warming means this welfare crisis is intensifying rather than stabilizing.