Dead fish have been reported at Wyangala Dam as the Department of Primary Industries and WaterNSW investigate the Menindee fish kill.
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DPI Senior Fisheries Manager Anthony Townsend said mass fish deaths have also occurred in the Namoi River below Keepit Dam and the Lachlan River at Wyangala Dam, in addition to the highly-publicised deaths at Menindee in December.
“The ongoing drought conditions across western NSW have resulted in fish kills in a number of waterways recently,” he said.
Our fisheries officers have confirmed a major fish kill event in the Darling River at Menindee affecting hundreds of thousands of fish.
- Department of Primary Industries Senior Fisheries Manager Anthony Townsend
“Our fisheries officers have confirmed a major fish kill event in the Darling River at Menindee affecting hundreds of thousands of fish, including Golden Perch, Murray Cod and Bony Herring.”
Adrian Langdon, WaterNSW executive manager of systems operations, said regional NSW is experiencing intense drought conditions, with the Central West, Far West and North West regions the worst affected.
“Algal alerts have been in place for several weeks in the Menindee region and linked to this, low dissolved oxygen levels are likely to occur within slow flowing or no flow sections of the river,” Mr Langdon said.
Mr Townsend said preliminary investigations by DPI into the current fish kill event suggest that hundreds of thousands of native fish have been impacted in the same stretch of waterway and further downstream.
WaterNSW is continuing to monitor water quality.
Community members are encouraged not to be alarmed and to report any similar incidents or observations through the Fishers Watch hotline on 1800 043 536.
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