MENINDEE: Australia has begun a major clean-up operation after millions of fish died in a river in the state of New South Wales (NSW).
The collected carcasses are expected to be deposited in landfill.
An emergency centre has been set up at Menindee in the state’s far west to co-ordinate the clean-up drive and monitor water quality.
The fish are thought to have been died due to an unseasonal heatwave. Temperatures in the area surged to 40C (104F) at the weekend.
Authorities urged there was “no need for community concern” over the river’s water quality, which supplies many local residents.
Testing of the water quality is underway which will ensure immediate action in case of the need of a supply switchover, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell said.
Meanwhile, conservation charity OzFish has begun a search and rescue operation to recover as many surviving native fish from the river as possible.
Hypoxic blackwater likely cause of fish-death
The mass fish die-off is believed to have been caused by hypoxic blackwater – a natural phenomenon which causes concentration of oxygen to fall so low that it becomes detrimental to organisms.
State government agencies said higher quality water was being released to enhance dissolved oxygen levels, adding that they would work with federal agencies to find the underlying cause.
The latest incident follows another mass fish die-off in the same area that took place in similar conditions in 2018.
