Millions of dead and rotting fish have clogged a vast stretch of river near a remote Australian outback town as a searing heat wave sweeps through the region. Videos posted on social media show boats plowing through a blanket of dead fish choking the virtually invisible water. The NSW government said millions of fish died in the Darling River near the town of Menindee in the third mass slaughter to hit the area since 2018.
“It’s really awful, there are dead fish as far as the eye can see,” Menindee resident Graeme McCrabb told AFP, adding that this year’s fish kills appear to be worse than previous ones.
“The environmental impact is unfathomable.” According to the state government, populations of fish such as herring and carp had ballooned in the river following the recent floods, but are now dying in large numbers as the waters recede. “Fish kills are linked to low oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia), which occur as flood waters recede,” the government said in a statement. “The current warm climate in the region is also exacerbating hypoxia, as warmer water holds less oxygen than colder water, and fish have higher oxygen requirements at hotter temperatures.”
Previous fish kills in Menindee – about 12 hours’ drive west of Sydney – have been attributed to water shortages in the river due to a prolonged drought and a 40km toxic algal bloom.