TITLE: As red tide spreads south, shellfish ban goes with it

BYLINE: PAULINE ARRILLAGA

EST. PAGES: 1

DATE: 09/30/97

DOCID: AAS741577

SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman; AAS

PAGE: B7

ORIGIN: HARLINGEN

(Copyright 1997)

State health officials extended a ban on clam, mussel and oyster harvesting to the lower Texas coast Monday in the wake of a red tide outbreak that has killed millions of fish in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, wildlife officials tested water samples and flew over the coastline to try to determine where the algae might spread. ``No one can even second- guess this thing,'' said Larry McEachron, science director for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Coastal Fisheries Division.

Red tide is a bloom of microscopic algae that attacks the nervous systems of fish and creates a reddish tint in seawater. Its toxins can kill many fish species, but only infected clams, mussels and oysters are unsafe for human consumption, state health officials said.

``Clams, mussels and oysters concentrate the toxin. When people consume those, the toxin can make them ill,'' said Kirk Wiles, assistant director of the Division of Seafood Safety at the Texas Department of Health.

Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, tingling sensations in the extremities and dilated pupils.