Low dissolved oxygen levels behind mass
fish death in Australian river
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[March 18, 2023]
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Low levels of oxygen in Australia's second
longest river were to blame for a mass fish die-off recently in a remote
part of New South Wales state, environmental authorities said.
Thousands of dead fish have been found this week in the Darling River
near the town of Menindee, around 1,000km (620 miles) west of the state
capital Sydney.
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![](../images/031823PIX/news_h13.jpg)
A sign protesting against government
management of water allocation is seen on a bridge over the drying-up
Darling River at Menindee in western New South Wales, Australia April
25, 2019. Picture taken April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Westbrook/File Photo
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It follows fish deaths in the same area in 2018 and 2019 where
up to a million fish died from poor water flow, poor water
quality, and sudden temperature changes.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment's water division
said on Twitter that "dissolved oxygen levels remain a concern
for fish health" in the area.
"There is a large number of fish deaths (predominantly Bony
Herring) in the Darling River between Lake Wetherell and
Menindee township," the agency said on Friday.
Hundreds of thousands of dead fish had been found in the river,
and state fisheries officers had been sent to the area to assess
the issue, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on
Saturday.
Footage posted to Twitter by SBS showed a boat navigating
through thousands of dead fish blanketing the entire surface of
the river.
The state planning and environment agency warned river oxygen
levels could fall futher this weekend as temperatures rise,
before cooler conditions return next week.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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