Red tide shows up in local waters
Eyes watering? Short of breath?

Karenia brevis has invaded again.

The tiny creature, known as a dinoflagellate, has increased in local waters to the point where scientists are calling it a red tide bloom.

Dr. Mark Fisher, science director at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. laboratory in Rockport, said that on Friday, Sept. 29, the red tide had killed an estimated 8,600 fish in the area of Cedar Bayou. Cedar Bayou marks the boundary between St. Jo Island and Matagorda Island and is about 20 miles up the coast from Port Aransas.

On Friday, Dr. Ed Buskey of The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (MSI) here measured the dinoflagellates at the MSI teaching pier at 120 per milliliter, just short of a bloom. By Tuesday, that had increased to 195 per milliliter and qualified as a plankton bloom, said Dr. Tracy Villareal, also of MSI.

Dead menhaden have been found in the MSI boat basin and another fish kill was reported in La Quinta Channel between Ingleside and Portland, said Meridith Byrd, who facilitates harmful algal blooms for the Parks and Wildlife Department.

"There is no evidence at this time that there will be a major bloom impacting Texas beaches," Byrd said.

Red tide emits vapors that cause humans' eyes to water and can lead to difficulty in breathing. It causes fish kills by suffocating the fish.

Though the red tide emissions are classed as toxic, they rarely if ever lead to a human fatality. Fisher said there's not much people can do to avoid a red tide if it's in the area. He said there appear to be no long-term health effects.

However, filter-feeding marine creatures such as oysters can accumulate

the toxin and cause illness or death in people who eat them. Symptoms include tingling in the lips followed by a reduction of motor abilities. If these symptoms occur after eating shellfish, the person should seek medical treatment.

Scientists don't know what causes the algal bloom, which is known as "red tide" because the reddish dinoflagellates seem to stain the water. Nor are they able to forecast its duration.

"Florida had one last year that lasted 18 months," Villareal said. "With luck, this one shouldn't last that long."

A brisk cold front usually ends a red tide bloom because it causes water movement in the Gulf of Mexico, Villareal said.

"But if (the organisms) become established in the bays, that won't help much," he added.