Ash from California wildfires could affect ocean life — and seafood

When the recent wildfires tore through Los Angeles, destroying thousands of homes and businesses, they also sent plumes of smoke out over the ocean.

NOAA satellite images show smoke and ash traveling as far as 100 miles offshore. Now, there are questions about what that toxic material may do to the ecosystem and, eventually, the food we get from the ocean.

On the day the fires broke out, a group of scientists from San Diego happened to be off the coast of L.A. taking water samples. They described the ash falling onto the water like snow. The group was part of the California Cooperative Fisheries Investigations, also known as Cal-COFI. For the past 75 years, the project has involved taking regular water and plankton samples off California's coast.

When the crew saw the ash, they immediately started collecting samples.

"We realized this was an opportunity to find out what was happening," says Noelle Bowlin, who leads the Cal-COFI project for NOAA. "What are the impacts of the fire and the smoke in the marine ecosytem?"

Bowlin describes the jars of samples they collected as a mixture of ash and anchovy eggs — January is peak anchovy spawning season.

“Why should people care about whether anchovies are healthy or not, or the ecosystem is healthy or not?" Bowlin said. "Well, because the base of the food system is so important for humans — anchovies feed birds, mammals, other big fishes that we all love to eat."

The concern is that toxins from the fires could eventually work their way up the food web and onto people's dinner plates.

"So, yes, I am concerned, and I'm concerned for the community," Bowlin said.

This is not the first time scientists have studied wildfire ash falling into the ocean, but the recent fires in Los Angeles are not like any others.

"These are urban fires," Bowlin said. "These are houses, neighborhoods, people's businesses. We expect to see things like asbestos and other polycarbonates that we wouldn’t see during a vegetation fire. And this will have different effects on the environment.”

To study the effects, scientists will take the samples collected after the fires and compare them with samples taken in that same area since the project began. The Cal-COFI project has archived more than a million samples dating back to 1930.

"It's a treasure trove of information in these specimens." Bowlin said, adding that they look at changes in plankton over time and how they develop. "If something doesn't look right in how it's formed, you'll see it."

Bowlin said some effects could show up within weeks, while others could take years to notice.

"We don't know yet. We're going to have to look."