NSW government has received reports of fish kills at 13 locations in the catchment, and warn of more to come

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Thousands of native fish have died in a series of ongoing mass death events at more than 20 different locations across the Murray-Darling Basin and in coastal areas of New South Wales in the past two weeks.

Government officials are warning of still more fish deaths to come, with heatwave conditions and then potential storms this weekend bringing further risk.

Sporadic heavy rain in some parts, combined with drought conditions and ash and exposed soil running into waterways from bushfire prone areas, were blamed.

Since 16 January, the NSW government has received reports of fish kills at 13 locations in the Murray-Darling catchment.

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An update to the NSW Department of Primary Industries “fish kills” website shows the Macquarie River, Gwydir River, Buckinbah Creek and the Turon River have all seen reports of localised events that have killed hundreds to thousands of fish.

In the Turon River, thousands of fish including Murray cod, golden perch and carp had died. Rain had caused “short and sharp” flows into the river, along with run-off, and had reduced oxygen levels.



Two sites in the Macquarie River had been affected. A 32km stretch of the river near Dubbo had been seen the deaths of thousands of fish, including Murray cod, golden perch, freshwater catfish, carp and shrimp. That event was ongoing, the department said.

Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch, bony bream, common carp and shrimp had also been reported dead around Raby, south of Sydney, when river flow had hit a previously dry river bed, mobilising “thick plumes of silt and picking up significant volumes of organic debris.”

Two sites in the Murray River had also seen reports of deaths.

Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of fish died in the Macleay River near Kempsey, in a mass fish kill event that ecologists said could have impacts for decades.

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A NSW Department of Primary Industries spokesperson told Guardian Australia the state was likely to see further fish kills “across coastal and inland catchments during the summer of 2020.”

The spokesperson said: “Extended hot days with a cool change have been forecast for the coming days across much of NSW, which unfortunately poses a significant risk to our native fish populations in certain areas.

“Additionally, runoff from bushfire and drought affected areas can impact water quality and place stress on river health and on native fish.”

Drought, run-off from bushfire-hit areas were putting increased stress on fish populations, the spokesperson said.

The fisheries department had been working with local communities to relocate more than 3,000 fish and 43 aeration units had been installed.

On Thursday, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority issued an update saying rain in the past fortnight had been a catalyst for the deaths.

The MDBA executive director of river operations, Andrew Reynolds, said it was “a cruel twist but an unavoidable risk that much-needed rain would contribute to fish deaths in areas affected by ash and sediment being washed into waterways.”

He said: “We have seen fish deaths in recent weeks in several locations under stress due to fires and the ongoing drought – in the Macquarie River, the Namoi, Gwydir, Border rivers, Barwon–Darling, Lachlan, Upper Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers, and the Lower Darling continues to be an area of concern.”

Basin governments were “working hard” to relocate fish, install aerators and deliver strategic releases of water for the environment, he said.

He added: “The rain has so far had little impact on overall basin storage levels, which are at 27% capacity overall. Though some catchments will see levels recover slightly over coming weeks, the total volume of water in basin storages continued to decline over the past fortnight.

“We really need a long period of above-average rainfall to break current drought conditions.”

There were 13 sites covered by blue-green algae alerts in NSW and three more at locations in Victoria, the authority said.