The Destruction of Red Tides Red tides also known as harmful algal blooms, HAB for short, are a toxic, single celled algae called photoplankton. This organism produces a toxin that affects the central nervous system of fish so that they are paralyzed and can't breathe. As a result, red tide blooms often result in dead fish washing up on beaches. From biblical times to present day this killer of marine animals and health risk to humans is affecting rivers and coast lines all over the world. Despite how long we have known about red tides there is not much we can do to stop them or determine where it will strike next. Certain blooms