WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress has approved $5 million in federal funding for New England shellfish harvesters hurt by last summer’s red tide outbreak.

The money, included in a spending bill passed Thursday in the Senate and Wednesday in the House, is meant to help the tourism and fishing industries that saw millions of dollars in losses during the outbreak, lawmakers said.

“Last year’s red tide outbreak was more massive than any the region has faced in more than 30 years … This disaster aid is meant to help them get back on their feet,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., in a statement.

The toxic algae bloom last summer closed shellfish beds from Maine to Massachusetts putting thousands of clammers, oyster farmers and mussel harvesters temporarily out of work.

“Anyone who visited Maine last summer saw first hand the effect it had on the state and regions economy,” said Sen. Olympia Snow, R-Maine.

Red tide is formed when a microscopic algae reproduces at an explosive rate. The algae produces a neurotoxin that can paralyze or make breathing difficult for fish, manatees or even humans that inhale or ingest it. No illnesses associated to the outbreak were reported last year in Massachusetts.