While drought and fish kills have occurred in the past, the facts are temperatures have consistently increased in Menindee across the past 20 years, climate change is already here, and water management practices need to be changed accordingly.
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These are some of the key messages delivered by Dr Lee Baumgartner at Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Explorations Series public lecture in Orange last week.
More than 40 people attended the free public lecture held at Groundstone Café last Wednesday night to hear Dr Baumgartner, Associate Research Professor in Fisheries and River Management at the CSU Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), to discuss the findings of a research panel which was commissioned by the Federal Government to assess the large-scale fish deaths at Menindee in 2018-19 in the lower Darling.
The expert panel was chaired by Professor Rob Vertessy, and found a range of factors contributed to the fish kill.
Dr Baumgartner has more than 20 years of research expertise on fish.
The main causes of the (Menindee) fish deaths were low flows, low oxygen and stratification. These arose from a long a protracted dry period at Menindee which were combined with hotter than average temperatures.
- Dr Lee Baumgartner
"Fish kills have happened in the past and there is a significant chance of them happening again this year," said Dr Baumgartner.
"The main causes of the (Menindee) fish deaths were low flows, low oxygen and stratification. These arose from a long a protracted dry period at Menindee which were combined with hotter than average temperatures."
Dr Baumgartner said that climate change has already occurred in the Menindee region and the panel recommended that a range of water management practices need to be changed accordingly.
The (Federal Government research) panel highlighted that the basin-plan is important, and now needed more than ever, but for the plan to succeed it requires collaboration among basin agencies to implement tangible solutions.
"It is important that these solutions be formed in collaboration with local communities, who are most impacted when these events occur," Dr Baumgartner said.
CSU Explorations Series are free public talks designed to stimulate conversation and engage our community in matters of regional, national or international significance.
The next Explorations Series event is "Sky Stories", a great family event star gazing through telescopes with lots of activities for kids and adults.
Sky Stories will be held at the Charles Sturt Orange campus on September 10 between 5pm to 8.30pm. There will be a free barbecue. Go to csu.edu.au/explorations to register.
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