– Over 50 dead seals, sea lions, whales, walrus recently stranded in Alaska — Dozens of seals suffering from baldness, skin sores — Experts: “Marine transported Fukushima radionuclides… may represent a new stressor to ecosystem” (ENENews, May 6, 2014):
Poster for Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Jan. 20, 2014: Based on modeled radionuclide concentrations the dose to Northern Pinnipeds on ice was less than the ERICA risk assessment no-effects level of 10 uGy/hr with the following caveats: 1) Source terms for the Fukushima nuclear accident release vary greatly creating uncertainty in the models. 2) Knowledge gaps exist on extrapolating radiation dose to marine mammals. 3) Exposure to hot particles was not addressed. 4) Cannot rule out that increased radiological exposure in combination with a mixture of other contaminants represented an immunotoxic and thyroid disease risk during the period the animals were living on the ice. 5) Ionizing radiation associated risk for skin defects (i.e. epilation, skin lesions) due to contact and external exposure can also not be excluded. *Marine transported Fukushima radionuclides entering the Bering and Chukchi Seas in the future may represent a new stressor to the ecosystem.
Nome Nugget, Jan. 2 2014: Hunters still report hairless seals — A Nome subsistence hunter reported the harvest of an oogruk showing symptoms of the disease that broke out in 2011 and left hundreds of seals hairless or dead. The breakout of the disease is still under federal investigation as an “unusual mortality event”. Symptoms of the disease included bald seals, skin sores and apathy.
NOAA, Feb. 2014: […] seals reported with abnormal hair growth and healing skin ulcers are likely survivors of the initial disease. Hunters may continue to see hairless seals during spring 2014 […] no specific infectious disease agent or process has been identified. This may suggest that the underlying cause of this disease is most likely complex, involving a variety of factors. […] Scientists are investigating the possibility that radiation could have been one of many factors […]
Nome Nugget, Apr. 10, 2014: [Gay Sheffield, Univ. of Alaska] has so far counted nine whale strandings, 25 dead walrus strandings, two sea lions and 18 seals. She also still collected data on Unusual Mortality Event suspected seals, showing hair loss, skin sores and delayed molt. Of those, she counted 10 spotted seals, eight ringed and six bearded seals. […] [Officials] heard and adopted a resolution […] that “the potential for pollution events includes oil spills, cargo or fuel spills, novel disease, invasive species, radiation […] contaminants which can impact wildlife and can potentially be transferred to consumers is of high concern.” The resolution demands […] research be conducted in the context of human health […]
See also: Researchers: Skin ulcers on Alaska wildlife after Fukushima were never observed before — Also reported in seals from Japan (AUDIO)
Related info:
– Record Numbers Of Seals & Sea Lions ‘Starving To Death’ Along California Coast – ‘So Many Unhealthy … Washing Ashore’
– Acute Hemorrhaging Found In Dead Snowy Owls Along West Coast – Mortality Event Began 8 Months After Fukushima Explosions
– ‘Marine Mystery’ in California: “Toxic outbreak threatening marine life” — Birds falling from sky, sea lions convulsing — “Worst they’ve ever seen” — Toxin hits record level, almost 1,000% above gov’t limit — Heart lesions, severe shrinking in part of brain, nervous system failure
– SF Chronicle: ‘Unbelievable hordes’ of fish near California coast; Most birds, sea lions, dolphins, whales anywhere – Expert: ‘Off the charts’ pelican population ‘highly unusual… could reflect breeding failures elsewhere’
– NBC: Record level of sick or injured California seals and sea lions turning up – ‘The numbers are extraordinary’ – ‘Scientists worried… The worst kind of perfect storm’ – Pups should be weighing 2 or 3 times as much, ‘severely malnourished’
– Experts: Sea Stars Decimated On West Coast – Population Ravaged As Mystery Disease Spreads South, ‘Gone From 100s To ZERO …’
– ‘Ultra-Rare’: Up To 70 Endangered False Killer Whales By California Coast
– Head Of Radiation Testing Program On West Coast: Fukushima Plume Could Threaten Ecosystems … Whatever Is In The Kelp Will Get In Bodies Of Those Animals Also
– Fukushima Explains Unprecedented Concentrations Of Whales And Other Sea Life Clustered Just Off West Coast
– US Gov’t: Scientists investigating if Fukushima radiation contributed to unusual deaths and sickness in marine mammals – Expect ‘hairless seals’ this spring
– Massive Die-Off Of Oysters And Scallops In Pacific Northwest: ‘Millions Of Shellfish Dying’ – ‘By July Mortality Hit 95 To 100 Percent’
– 60 Bald Eagles Dead In Utah Since December (Not From West Nile Virus) (See related article below.)
– More Than 400 Dead Dolphins Found In Northern Peru
– Hawaii: More Than 500 Deep-Sea Lanternfish, Squid Found Dead Or Dying
– West Coast Sea Stars Melt Into Mush, ‘Just Vaporized … It’s The Change Of My Lifetime’ – ‘Ripping Themselves Apart … Innards Spilled Out’
– Alaska Professor: Fukushima Fallout A Suspected Factor In ‘Unusual Mortality’ Of Seals And Walrus
– Conditions Never Seen Before By Scientists In Pacific Seals And Walrus – Thyroid Cysts, Lesions Of Reproductive System, Retained Placenta
– Reports: White ‘goo’ everywhere in Alaska seal, crows won’t touch it… yet they eat people’s roofs — Slime in ones mouth, kidney almost black
– Problems with killer whales local to West Coast — Only baby born in 2013 died — Just two born in 2012 — Depleted fish supply blamed
– Conjoined Baby Gray Whales Found On West Coast Of N. America – Could Be First Ever Recorded — 2 Heads And 2 Tails, Joined In Middle (Video & Photo)
– L.A. Times: Alarming West Coast sardine crash likely radiating through ecosystem — Experts warn marine mammals and seabirds are starving, may suffer for years to come — Boats return without a single fish — Monterey Bay: Hard to resist idea that humpback whales are trying to tell us something
– ‘We see radiation from Fukushima in soils in Southern California, especially our desert regions’ – High concentrations in seaweed prevented harvest this year — Also found in cattle and chicken feed
– Scientists: Starfish Wasting Disease Outbreak Could Be Due To Fukushima Radiation
– LA Times: Experts suggest bald eagle deaths are related to Fukushima radiation – Idaho officials reporting similar sickness – ‘It’s hard to have your national bird in your arms, going through seizures’
– Unprecedented Decline In Alaska King Salmon
– Mystery Illness Killing Bald Eagles In Western U.S. – Wings Paralyzed, Full Blown Seizures
– Pelicans Starving In Pacific Northwest Since 2011, Killing Baby Birds For Food – ‘Sardine Crash’ Persists In Pacific Since Decline In 2011
– ‘Unprecedented Activity’ Near Canada’s West Coast: Whales In Record Numbers, Displaying Highly Unusual Behavior
– Marine Biologist: All Sea Stars Along West Coast Of North America Could Be Wiped Out
– Large Die-Off Of Alaska Seabirds From Disease Never Found Before In State History
– CNN: The Pacific Has Seen Its Fair Share Of Weird Recently – Bay In California ‘Now A Massive Soup Bowl’ – ‘Miles Of Anchovies, Mountains Deep’
– Study: Dead Sea Creatures Covered 98% Of Seafloor Last Year 150 Miles Off California Coast – Unprecedented!!!
– Weird Things’ Happening On California Coast: Unknown Toxic Algae Blooms Proliferating; Unprecedented Mass Of Oxygen-Poor Water – Mystery Strandings Of Large Squid Covered Miles And Experts Baffled … ‘Essentially Killing Themselves’
– San Francisco Chronicle: Fukushima Radiation Possible Culprit In Huge Starfish Die Off From Mexico To Alaska
– California: Threat Of ‘Dead Zone’ Developing Off Sonoma Coast
– Sea Star Die-Off Worse Than Thought; Now Over Entire West Coast; Going From One Species To Others
– Whale Expert Near Vancouver: In 30 Years I’ve Never Ever Seen This Kind Of Behavior, ‘They Must Sense This Is A Safe Place To Be’
– NBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before
– CBS News: 100s Of Whales In Bay On California Coast – Experts: ‘A Once-In-A-Lifetime Chance … Unheard Of, It’s Unbelievable’
– Expansive ‘Death Zone’ Of Birds On Alaska Island, Perhaps Thousands Washed Ashore
– CBC News: Something Very Odd Is Happening In Pacific; Sea Creatures Acting Strangely
– Rarely Seen Sea Creature Normally Living At The Depths Of The Ocean Caught Off Miami Beach
– Unprecedented Concentration Of Sea Creatures Near Shore In California
– ‘Lots Of Sea Birds Washing Up Dead’ In Alaska (Photos)
– Alaska Island Shows Impacts From Fukushima – ‘Significant Cesium Isotope Signature’ Detected – Scientists Anticipate More Marine Life To Be Impacted As Ocean Plume Arrives
– Hundreds Of Sea Turtles Wash Up Dead On Pacific Coast – Dogs ‘Stopped Breathing And Died Almost Instantly’ When Eating Them
– Scientists ‘Especially Worried’: ‘We Don’t Know How The Pathogen Is Doing This’ – Sea Star Broke In Half, Walked Away, Then Turned To Goo
– Starfish Turn To ‘Slime’ Along Pacific Coast … ‘We’re Talking About A Loss Of Millions And Millions’
– Fishermen Boats Surrounded By Hundreds Of Dead (Nearly Extinct) Eastern Pacific Green Sea Turtles
– (UPDATED) ‘Extraordinary’ string of whale and dolphin encounters off Canada’s Pacific coast “could have a deeper meaning” — Indigenous Academic Adviser: “We see them as our relatives, as ancestors… It’s for the better of all of us to listen” (VIDEO)
– Sea Star ‘Ripping Itself Into Pieces’ – Like A Horror Movie – AP: Deaths From Alaska To S. California – Prof: ‘None Of Us Had Ever Seen Anything Like This Before’
– Sardine Population Plummets Along U.S. West Coast – ‘Canadian Pacific Fishermen Catch No Sardines In 2013? – AP: Collapse Of Species Feared
– West Coast Sea Stars Mysteriously Dying Off (KING 5 News Video): ‘Why Scientists Are So Concerned About The Rapidly Spreading Disease’
– Something Is Killing Life All Over The Pacific Ocean
– Head Researcher “Is Sounding The Alarm’ Over Dramatic Changes In Pacific Northwest Killer Whales
– 28 Signs That The West Coast Is Being Absolutely Fried With Nuclear Radiation From Fukushima
– The Pacific Is Broken: ‘After We Left Japan, It Felt As If The Ocean itself Was Dead’ – ‘I’m Used To Seeing Turtles, Dolphins, Sharks And Big Flurries Of Feeding Birds’ – ‘But This Time For 3000 Nautical Miles There Was Nothing Alive To Be Seen’
