GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials reported on Saturday that red tide was detected in the Gulf waters near the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County.

According to its website, TPWD reported fish kills and respiratory symptoms in the waters near Crystal Beach, with water samples collected on the Bolivar Peninsula indicating a "moderate concentration of red tide." Experts describe red tide as a higher concentration of a microscopic algae called Karenia brevis.

The algae produces a toxin that paralyzes fish, resulting in "red tide blooms" that cause dead fish to wash up on Gulf beaches.