ALARM: Record die-off of marine life along West Coast

Huge numbers washing up on shore… “This is just the tip of the iceberg” — Several types of animals found dead — Hemorrhaging from brain infection (VIDEOS)

San Francisco Chronicle, May 5, 2017 (emphasis added): Leopard sharks dying by the hundreds in San Francisco Bay — Scores of leopard sharks have been found dead or dying… No one knows yet what is the cause. Alarmed biologists are trying to figure out why leopard sharks are dying by the hundreds in San Francisco Bay this year… Huge numbers of dead sharks, some bat rays and a few halibut have been found since mid-March along the shorelines… It is the 

second year in a row that large numbers of the bay’s most abundant shark have been going belly up during the spring pupping season… It is the largest leopard shark mortality event since 2011, when more than 1,000 dead sharks were counted…

San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 2017: Hundreds of dead sharks washing up on Bay Area shores — For seven weeks straight, hundreds of sharks have been washing up dead on the shores of the San Francisco Bay… “We can’t actually keep up with the volume of calls we get on a day-to-day basis,” [Sean Van Sommeran, executive director and founder of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation] said. Several types of marine life have been turning up dead, including rays and large fish like halibut. But primarily, Van Sommeran has been seeing hundreds of leopard sharks washing up. He estimates the number of dead and dying sharks in the bay could be in the thousands. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Van Sommeran told SFGATE. “We’re only seeing a fraction of the actual losses.”…

CBS S.F., May 4, 2017: Spike In Leopard Shark Deaths In SF Bay Raises Concerns… This is the third die-off in the past six years… Tests have found a viral and fungal infection that somehow makes its way into the shark’s brain…

ABC S.F., May 4, 2017: Leopard Sharks dying off in record numbers in San Francisco Bay — Leopard sharks in particular have been dying off in record numbers… Research so far points to a pathogen getting into the brains of the sharks. “Well the pathogens get into the eyes, nose duct, they have a brain infection [that] causes hemorrhage,” Vansommeran said.

Watch broadcasts here: ABC | CBS

See also:

Peak of Fukushima radiation now moving to West Coast