You ask anyone who grew up in Texas, chances are they have a distinct memory of visiting the beaches of Galveston. Whether those stories are good or bad is up to the individual, but you absolutely cannot say Galveston isn’t memorable.
Though they probably would like to forget what’s currently occurring in the coastal city, as toxic algae known as red tide is blooming along Texas’ gulf coast, which is killing thousands of fish, washing them ashore, and prompting health warnings to beachgoers.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced that red tide algae have been detected in the upper coast around Galveston Bay and lower Laguna Madre in the Rio Grande Valley. Red tide algae produce a toxin that affects the central nervous system in fish, causing them to suffocate, and can be harmful to humans as well.
According to the Dallas Morning News, people exposed to red tide may experience eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath, and those with an existing respiratory illness, such as asthma, may experience symptoms more severely.
Experts aren’t exactly sure what causes a red tide, but some believe high temperatures combined with a lack of wind and rainfall are usually at the root of the problem.
Officials say dead fish have washed ashore at San Luis Pass on Galveston’s west end and Surfside and Quintana beaches in Brazoria County, and though the beaches have not been closed, authorities have issued health warnings to beachgoers.
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