From ABC News (30/4/24)…
Why are fish still dying in the Darling River at Menindee — and what can we do to prevent it?
Over the past few months, the Darling River near Menindee has, once again, been strewn with the rotting remains of thousands of native fish.
The fish kill was the latest in a series to hit the far-western NSW region after Menindee made international headlines during the summer of 2018–19, then again in March 2023, when an estimated 30 million fish perished.
While this year’s fish kill, which started in February, wasn’t quite as extensive, such events indicate that the river is “sick”, and may create a domino effect on water quality as rotting fish exacerbate the problem, scientists warn.
Among them is Richard Kingsford, a river ecologist and conservation biologist, who has worked extensively across Murray-Darling Basin wetlands and rivers. He was also a member of the Australian Academy of Science expert panel which investigated the 2018–19 fish kills.
“It’s not the same sort of massive fish kill that we previously had, but it’s significant and ongoing,” he said.
