TNS REPORT: Locals around the Darling River were confronted with a
sea of white, as dead fish carpeted the waters near the Outback town of
Menindee.
It comes weeks after up to a million fish were killed - with
scientists pointing to low water and oxygen levels as well as possibly toxic
algae - in another mass death in the food-growing region.
Inspectors from the New South Wales Department of Primary
Industries visited the site and said they found "hundreds of thousands of
fish have died".
"Further fish deaths in the Darling River are
anticipated as a significant number of fish have been observed under
stress," the department said.
With temperatures expected to rise and no rain forecast,
there remained a "high risk of further fish kills over the coming days and
week".
Experts and locals said they stem from the systemic depletion and pollution
of the river.
The inspectors added that the latest bout of kills were
likely linked to "critically low levels of dissolved oxygen" caused
by a sharp drop in temperatures after an extended period of hot weather.
New South Wales Regional Water Minister Niall Blair said his
government was out of options, with aerators in rivers only a "Band-Aid
solution".
He added: "The only thing that will really change these
conditions... is fresh water coming through the system and there is just no
possibility of that at the moment."
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