Red tide!

The ocean phenomenon where red algae bloom, bacteria deplete the oxygen, fish die and the beaches look and smell bad is apparently pretty extreme now in the South Bay. "Michael Aaker, dockmaster at King Harbor Marina, said this year's red tides were among the worst he has ever seen. 'This is the first time I've seen it kill so many fish,' said Aaker, who has worked at the marina for 15 years," the Daily Breeze reports. If you can get past the smell and the off color to the sea, it's safe to swim in. Meanwhile, the Breeze also says at least eight sea lions have been poisoned by a brain toxin produced by a different algae. "The algae killing the sea lions are eaten by fish, which pass the poison up the food chain to the sea lions. The toxin leads to seizures and paralysis in sea lions, while the fish are unaffected."