Last Fall, Coastal Bend residents experienced a rare event. Carried by winds and tides, these organisms washed in from the Gulf of Mexico, leaving beaches covered with millions of dead fish.
Red tide poses a health risk to humans as well.
Ocean spray blown by sea breezes near red tides can carry toxins and irritants ashore, which can cause respiratory, nose, throat and eye irritation. Severe cases of irritation may produce breathing difficulty and tingling or numbness of the mouth or extremities. Texas Health Department officials responded quickly to the red tide invasion by conducting extensive water and shellfish tissue tests. But by the end of October, the toxic red tide had disappeared as mysteriously as it had come. Even as the red tide faded from Coastal Bend bay waters, health risks remained.