A 
red tide is a giant 
bloom of 
dinoflagellates, so called because they are often present in sufficient numbers to turn the water red.  Red tides produce large quantities of 
neurotoxins[?] that kill many fish and are accumulated by 
filter feeders[?], like 
shellfish, which is why one must be careful of eating them at certain times of the year.
 
All Wikipedia text 
is available under the 
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License