A heatwave and recent flooding have caused a mass die-off of native fish in a remote region of south-east Australia. Photos in local media showed a carpet of dead fish floating down the River Darling near the small town of Menindee in far western New South Wales. The broadcaster ABC wrote that there had been repeated fish kills in Menindee in previous years, but the current extent dwarfs everything that has happened before, according to the authorities. The AAP news agency wrote of “millions” of dead fish.
The death of the fish is likely due to a combination of the heat and low oxygen levels caused by the receding floods, the Ministry of Primary Industries said. In addition to carp, freshwater herring, Murray cod and perch also died. Temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius were expected in the region for the weekend, ABC further wrote.
Fish kills repeat themselves
“The stench was terrible,” local wildlife photographer Geoff Looney said after spotting a huge accumulation of dead fish near Menindee on Thursday night, according to AAP. “I almost had to put on a mask.”
During the severe drought in late 2018 and early 2019, the river near Menindee suffered a massive fish kill, estimated by local residents at millions of dead fish, according to the AAP. Australia is particularly suffering from climate change – heat waves, bush fires and floods are the result. Back in January there were reports of scores of dead carp from the River Murray lying in paddocks rotting in the sun following severe flooding in southern Victoria state.
