Red tide still lingers on the Island

The red tide that made Saturday and Sunday so miserable for people on the beach at Sandcastle Days started to dissipate this week, but was still evident Thursday afternoon.

Dr. Donald Hockaday, working at the University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies Lab at Isla Blanca Park, has been tracking the foul-smelling algae for the past couple of weeks.

The average, he said, is running about 200 cells per milliliter of water, which is not too bad so far. He said an occasional sample might be in the thousands, but for the most part the present infestation could be worse.

Hockaday said the bloom appears to be sporadic. Wednesday, for example, his count at LaQuina Inn was 20 cells per milliliter, while just a few yards up the beach a sample count was 250.

Dead fish are now washing up on Island beaches.

"I'd advise people not to drive on the beach right now," he said. "Most of the dead fish are catfish and those spines will ruin your tires."

"Amazing" Walter McDonald, who helped organize Sandcastle Days, said it was a shame that the red tide coincided with the annual event.

"Some of our sculptors here for the first time said if this is what South Padre beaches smell like they are never coming back," he said.

McDonald's daughter, Christy McDonald, was one of the sand masters who competed solo.

"It was awful out there," she said. "We wore masks and goggles, but it still got to us. One thing about it, though-we all had the same conditions to work with. It didn't give an advantage to anybody."

South Padre Island Communications Director Gary Ainsworth said there are places on the beach where it's hardly noticeable, but other places will draw the tears, coughs, and sneezes. And there is no way to predict which part of the beach will be best.

Joe Riggs, a trail boss for Island Equestrian, said he was on the beach Thursday morning. The wind was from the west and he and hardly noticed the odor.

"Then this afternoon the wind changed and blew from the east, and even the horses in the barn started coughing and wheezing," he said.

Hockaday said there is no way to forecast how long the algae bloom will last

"It's usually only two or three weeks," he said, and added he has, however, known it to last twice that long.

"If we could predict it, or prevent it, or make it go away we would," he said.