The female sea lion pup, nicknamed Marina, made headlines when she was discovered huddled in a booth at the Marine Room, a white-tablecloth eatery known for its gourmet seafood menu.

She was one of many hundreds of sea lions, mostly pups, to turn up starving and stranded along the California coast since last year, apparently the result of warming seas that have disrupted the marine mammals' food chain.

At the time of her rescue, Marina, then eight months old, weighed only about nine kilogrammes (20 pounds), about half the weight she should have been for her age.

She was also suffering from an eye injury of unknown origin, according to SeaWorld.

After being nursed back to health, and with her eye healed, Marina was transported by boat with eight other recently rescued and rehabilitated sea lions for return back to their home in the Pacific, 12 to 14 miles off the coast of San Diego, SeaWorld said.

So far in 2016, SeaWorld San Diego says it has rescued more than 300 marine mammals.

At about this time last year, a record 2,250 sea lions were found stranded on Southern California beaches since the start of 2015, federal scientists reported.