Fisheries staff are working to salvage native fish threatened by low water levels at Menindee Lakes in far west New South Wales.

Total storage levels in the lakes have dropped to 16 per cent capacity and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries staff have been on site since Tuesday.

"We've come out to see what sort of fish are in the water and see if were any native fish to relocate," said DPI technical specialist Ian Wooden said.

The team is using an electric pulse to stun fish in the lakes in order to transfer any native species to fresher water.

But Mr Wooden said there had been no sightings of native species such as Murray cod, perch or yellowbelly.

"We've removed quite a number of carp, I think 7,000 kilograms of carp so far," he said.

The DPI classifies carp as an introduced pest species.

"Looking at the water it's really salty which you typically get when the water recedes, and we haven't seen any native fish," Mr Wooden said.

Mr Wooden said it was likely that any local native species had moved away from the lakes as water levels dropped and salinity levels rose.

The DPI teams will bury the captured carp on land nearby.

"We're also giving some to the local school, who have a composting system set up," Mr Wooden said.

"They were quite happy to receive those yesterday."