Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Fish cleanup continues from red tide

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Tuesday, October 24, 2000

Fish cleanup continues from red tide
More than 2,000 pounds have been picked up; officials vow to keep it going
By Rosemary Barnes
Caller-Times

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

Fish killed by the toxic red tide accumulate near the seawall. The outbreak is the largest bloom seen on the Texas coast since 1986. Thousands of fish have washed up on beaches and hundreds more are expected.

City crews, equipped with surgical masks, rubber gloves, tongs and fishing nets, have scooped up more than 2,000 pounds of fish killed by a toxic red tide from the city marina since last Thursday. And it appears that their work will continue until a strong cold front or a heavy downpour flushes the reddish patches of algae from coastal waters.
   "It looks bad," Gumaro Reyes said as he dug his bare feet into the wet sand of McGee Beach at the bayfront. "But we came anyway."
   Reyes said the smell of rotting fish wasn't too strong on the beach late Monday after a cleanup by the city earlier in the day. But he did point at a few fish that had washed up since.
   "We don't eat the fish, we just see them but we don't eat them," he laughed.

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

The bloom of red tide, which has killed thousands of fish, has been causing problems along the Texas coast since Labor Day weekend.

   City officials have said the cleanup of the fish will continue.
   "As long as necessary, until every dead fish is picked up," said Peter Davidson, city marina superintendent. ''It's a lot of work, but it's an absolute necessity for a city that keeps its doors open year-round for visitors.''
   Beginning late last week, thousands of dead fish also have washed up on the beaches of Padre Island National Seashore, said Tom Crowson, supervising park ranger.
   ''In the last four or five days, we've seen a large number of dead fish come in with each tide,'' Crowson said. ''We don't have the financial resources to clean them up. They're piled up out there with the seaweed that washes in. We'll have to let nature take its course.''
   A wide variety of fish have died in the red tide, including mullet, mackerel, catfish and black drum, Crowson said. Hundreds of bull redfish also have been killed by the red tide, decreasing the breeding population of this popular game fish, Crowson said.
   ''There's not a whole lot anyone can do about the red tide. We're at its mercy,'' Crowson said. ''We just have to wait for it to go away.''
   'Not a lot you can do'
   Red tide is a high concentration of microscopic algae that produces a toxin that affects the central nervous system of fish and kills them.
   The toxins can form an irritating mist of sea spray, almost like an aerosol, causing human respiratory problems such as nose, throat and eye irritation. Scientists have yet to find a viable way to combat red tide blooms.
   The current bloom of red tide has been a problem in various locations along the Texas coast since Labor Day weekend, when streaks of the algae were spotted in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston and on the west end of Matagorda Bay.
   Curtis Watters, who was combing a stretch of McGee Beach with a metal detector on Monday, took a break to ponder what has been killing so many fish lately.
   "There's not a lot you can do about red tide," he said. "But it is the city's responsibility to pick the fish up."
   Largest bloom since 1986
   Watters said that there is only one thing about red tide that will keep him away from the beach.
   "The smell will keep me away," he said. "I went out to the volleyball area near Luby Park this weekend. I was only there about 40 minutes."
   Watters said he was forced to cut his day at the beach short after experiencing some of the side effects of red tide.
   Last week, Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife officials observed patches of red tide in Nueces and Corpus Christi bays during a fly-over of the area. The current red tide bloom is the largest seen on the Texas coast since 1986, when the algae killed millions of fish.
   ''We believe that this bloom that was seen in Corpus Christi Bay caused the fish kill we're dealing with right now,'' Davidson said. ''We expect hundreds more dead fish to float up.''
   The Texas Department of Health and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department caution people not to eat dead fish they find in the water or on the shore, whether or not the fish died as a result of the red tide.
   However, department officials said it is OK to eat fish caught during a red tide bloom because the fleshy tissue of the fish has not absorbed the red tide toxin, but they don't recommend it.
   Shrimp and crabs are safe to eat because they don't ingest the toxin. And when picking up a fish killed by the red tide, department officials advise people wear rubber gloves to prevent direct contact with the toxin.


Staff writer Sara Lee Fernandez contributed to this report. Staff writer Rosemary Barnes can be reached at 886-3716 or by e-mail at _barnesr@caller.com

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