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Red tide update, November 20, 2000
Texas Parks and WildlifeNov. 20, 2000
Red Tide Disappears From Texas Coast
AUSTIN, Texas -- The red tide that touched areas all along the Texas coast this year appears to be over. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife officials, as of the first week in November, the red tide bloom could not be readily detected anywhere along the coast.
The red tide bloom began in early August in the Gulf several miles off Sabine Pass near the Texas-Louisiana border. The bloom spread west and south along the Texas coast during the next two months and eventually affected nearly all Texas beaches from the Bolivar Peninsula to South Padre Island.
The bloom also spread into major bay systems as it moved down the coast. Affected bays included the Galveston Bay system, East and West Matagorda bays, San Antonio Bay, Corpus Christ Bay, Mesquite Bay, some neighboring smaller bay systems, and the mouths of some tidal streams such as the Brazos and San Bernard rivers and Caney Creek. Dead fish washed ashore in the Freeport area around Surfside on several occasions, and beach goers experienced respiratory irritation. Other areas experiencing extended periods of respiratory irritation and fish kills were the Padre Island National Seashore and Matagorda Beach.
"The organism which causes red tide is still present in some locations but in concentrations too low to cause problems," according to Cindy Contreras, a TPW scientist heading a team of researchers studying red tide in Texas. "The total number of fish killed by this year's red tide has not been tallied, but it could reach several million. However, we do not expect that future fishing opportunities will be hurt in Texas bays and offshore waters because of the red tide fish kill."
A much larger red tide outbreak killed 22 million fish in 1986. Affected fish species included menhaden, speckled trout, stargazers, mullet, shrimp eels, spots, whiting, pigfish, star drum, ladyfish, flounder, mojarras, croaker, red drum and black drum.
Texas Department of Health experts have closely monitored the presence of red tides in the bays in order to track possible effects on shellfish. Consuming shellfish such as oysters contaminated with the red tide toxin can cause serious illness, according to Kirk Wiles with TDH. "Even though red tide may appear to be gone from an area, red tide toxins can remain in shellfish tissues for a long time," he noted. "TDH will monitor oyster tissues and open additional shellfish areas as the toxin is depurated (cleansed)."
A portion of Galveston Bay is now open to harvesting clams, mussels and oysters. All areas from West Galveston Bay south to the Rio Grande remain closed, according to Wiles. For the latest information about shellfish closures, call the TDH toll-free information line at (800) 685-0361
Throughout the bloom, TPW conducted overflights and ground surveys of areas where red tide or fish kills were reported. TPW scientists also worked extensively with researchers from the University of Texas Center for Space Research and the Texas Natural Resources Information System to track the red tide using satellites.
"Researchers at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute played an important role during the bloom, analyzing many samples from around the state for red tide organisms, which provided valuable assistance to the state in tracking and understanding the red tide," said Contreras.
Researchers at UTMSI also helped scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who, with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, were testing ways to control red tide toxins. Among the experiments, researchers tested the effects of adding clay to the water to remove red tide cells. According to researchers, the red tide organism tends to stick to the clay particles as the clay particles sink through the water.
Other researchers from Mote Marine Lab and Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Florida studied red tide toxins in sea spray. Red tide aerosol can cause severe respiratory problems for humans. The research into red tide toxins in sea spray is funded in part by the National Institutes of Environmental Health.
For more information about red tide in Texas, call TPW at (800) 792-1112 and follow the automated menu or visit the TPW Web site (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/).
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Cindy Contreras
Water Quality Coordinator
Resource Protection Division
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744(512) 912-7095 phone
(512) 707-1358 faxcindy.contreras@tpwd.state.tx.us http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us