Millions of dead and rotting fish have blocked large sections of a river in far southeast Australia. This is the third time such an incident has occurred in the same stream since 2018. This time, however, the number of dead fish will be significantly higher than previously recorded. The local press reported this.
The New South Wales state government said millions of fish had died in the Darling River near the village of Menindee. The reason for this can be attributed to a period characterized by successive heavy rains and currently extreme heat and drought. Herring and carp populations increased significantly in the river after the recent floods, but the water has since been withdrawn due to prolonged drought, according to local authorities. “The death of these fish is due to low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in the water because the floodwaters recede,” says an official statement.
#last minute: kills big fish #Menindee In rural NSW a few weeks after 1000s of fish died in the 10s – @NSWDPIE_Su At the time, he said, it was due to low dissolved oxygen levels due to the increase in biomass as the floodwaters receded. Locals say it’s worse than the 2018-19 fish kills pic.twitter.com/U31zNRRzIU
— Sara Tomevska (@STomevska) 17 March 2023
On social media, several videos show boats amid dense shoals of floating fish whose surface of the waterway is nearly invisible. “There’s really terrible, dead fish as far as the eye can see,” one resident told AFP, speaking of the “immeasurable” environmental consequences. Previous mass extinctions of fish in Menindee, a small village of 500 inhabitants, had already been attributed to a lack of water in the river, as well as an overgrowth of toxic algae in about 40 kilometers of the watercourse. The region has been devastated by floods and droughts in recent years.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
