Red Tide Kills Fish in Corpus Christi Bay

Hundreds of dead fish washing ashore on Corpus Christi Bay appear to have died from a fresh bloom of red tide, marine scientists say. Red tide, an algae that is fatal to fish in high concentrations, may have reached toxic levels in the bay, an area with a large shellfishing industry. Scientists are not sure what causes the algae to bloom to toxic levels and attack the nervous system of fish. Eating infected shellfish can cause nausea, dizziness and irritations. Last week an estimated 6 million bay anchovies died in a red tide, scientists suspect. There were no immediate reports of infected shellfish. An outbreak of red tide last year prompted health officials to ban commercial oyster harvesting for several months, creating economic hardships in coastal communities.