Reports of strange alien like blobs are popping up in the Delta near Stockton.
Images of the blobs can be found on on Facebook, but few know what they are.
“I pull a lot of stuff out of the water. I am not sure what all of it is, ” said Nelson Herrera, a supervisor at the Stockton Marina.
Herrera is tasked with removing algae and hyacinth blooms.
Recently, the strange blobs have been tangled in the weed and attached to the dock. So what are the mystery blobs?
“The blobs are actually living animals called bryozoan,” Lisa Medina with the San Joaquin Environmental Health Department said. “The blobs are colonies of the bryozoan. The blob is called zooids.”
Medina says the organisms clump together when the water is warm. They feed on microscopic plants and animals, similar to the way a sea sponge does. When water cools down the zooids will break apart.
Bryozoan is harmless to humans, but Medina warns there is something else lurking in the water.
“We are warning people about the algae blooms," Medina said. "They can make people and pets sick."
Warm water temperatures and run off from farm land and sewage sparked a large algae bloom this year.
The county posted warning signs at high algae grow areas. It’s not safe for people or pets to ingest the algae or water.
The good news is algae blooms are ending their life cycle and slowly dying off. Unfortunately, when that happens algae decays and creates a pungent smell.
“We probably only have a few more weeks of algae,” Medina said.
If you have concerns about water in your area, or you want to report something strange in the water, you can tell California Water Quality Council.