County officials said Friday night they were testing the water at Boca Chica beach to determine whether to issue any type of warning after dead fish were found along the shore— possible victims of red tide. People with asthma or other respiratory problems can be particularly sensitive to red tide, and there were already reports of people reacting to something at the beach.
Cameron County Commissioner Sofia C. Benavides, of Precinct 1, visited the shore Friday and reported that the water was not red. However, she said she experienced irritation to her throat, a common symptom of red tide.
Willie Cupit, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department coastal ecologist, said Friday morning he hadn’t received a report of the fish kill, but that it would be investigated.
Cupit said Thursday that the presence of red tide in the Brownsville Ship Channel was confirmed.
“We were kind of holding our breath. It’s going to spread. It’s just kind of a waiting game,” he said Friday. “You can’t really pre-dict where it’s going to go.”
Benavides drove out to Boca Chica beach Friday afternoon and found that small dead fish washed up all along the shore.
She said health officials were expected to go there to inspect the situation.
Officials said they didn’t think the beach would be closed. Read More
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