Massive fish deaths in Australia’s second longest river have been blamed on low oxygen levels.
Footage showed a slick of hundreds of thousands of silvery bodies covering the surface of the Darling River near the town of Menindee in a remote part of New South Wales, around 1,000km west of Sydney.
Authorities said the mortality was due to “dissolved oxygen levels” and state fishery officers were dispatched to assess the situation, with the rotting carcasses causing a putrid stench for residents.
It follows large-scale fish deaths in the same area in 2018 and 2019 due to poor water quality and sudden temperature changes.
The state’s planning and environment agency warned that oxygen levels in rivers could drop further this weekend as temperatures rise, before cooler conditions return next week.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s Water Division posted on Twitter: “Dissolved oxygen levels remain a concern for fish health.
“There are a large number of fish kills (mainly bony herring) in the Darling River between Lake Wetherell and Menindee Township.”
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NSW’s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said it would continue to monitor fish health risks in the area.
He said: “The amount of dissolved oxygen in the water may contain decreases with increasing water temperature, which can add further stress to fish that may already be struggling.”
