TITLE: Red tide killing fish along San Jose Island

BYLINE: Associated Press

EST. PAGES: 1

DATE: 09/25/97

DOCID: AAS740373

SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman; AAS

PAGE: B9

ORIGIN: SAN JOSE ISLAND

(Copyright 1997)

SAN JOSE ISLAND -- A bloom of red tide algae is being blamed for the deaths of thousands of fish along the Gulf of Mexico, including hundreds found this week on a six-mile stretch of San Jose Island.

Red tide is a microscopic algae that attacks the nervous systems of fish and creates a reddish tint in sea water. Eating infected fish can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea in humans, and airborne toxins can cause watery eyes and breathing discomfort. State scientists this week found hundreds of dead fish on San Jose Island, just northeast of Aransas Pass, that they think were infected by red tide.

``We've got verification that we had red tide cells in the water (off San Jose Island), and some of the people out there were feeling discomfort with coughing,'' said Larry McEachron, science director for Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

State officials said Tuesday that they also suspect that red tide killed thousands of the small menhaden fish at Sargent Beach on the Matagorda Peninsula last week.

The red tide algae bloomed last week near Port O'Connor where a smaller fish kill was discovered near Pass Cavallo.

Tony Amos, an oceanographer at the University of Texas Marine Science Center in Port Aransas, said little is known about what triggers a bloom of red tide. Favorable conditions include warmer than usual water of low salinity, Amos said.