Schooling fish, including mullet and menhaden, and some gamevarieties such as red fish and trout covered miles and miles of beach from Padre Island National Seashore south to Port Isabel. Scientists fanned out along the coast to count how many fish were killed. Already, more than 14 million fish have died since red tide developed off the Texas coast last month. With the latest kill, this year's episode may rival the state's last major red tide outbreak, which killed 22 million fish over four months in 1986.
Red tide is a bloom of microscopic algae that attacks the nervous systems of fish.
Although its toxins can kill many fish species, only infected clams, mussels and oysters are unsafe for human consumption.