Millions of fish found dead near a remote town in the Australia on Sunday.
According to the New South Wales government, millions of fish had died in the Darling River – Australia’s second longest river – near the small town of Menindee.
The videos of these fish are making rounds on the internet. The videos showed boats ploughing through a blanket of dead fish smothering the water.
The environmental authorities said low levels of oxygen were to blame for a mass fish die-off.
The government also said in a statement, “These fish deaths are related to low oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia) as flood waters recede. The current hot weather in the region is also exacerbating hypoxia, as warmer water holds less oxygen than cold water, and fish have higher oxygen needs at warmer temperatures.”
The government said that populations of fish had boomed in the river following recent floods, but they were now dying off in huge numbers as floodwaters receded.
The state environment agency said that the river oxygen levels could fall further this weekend.
State government fisheries spokesperson Cameron Lay said it was “confronting” to see the river choked by dead fish.
“We are seeing tens of kilometres where there is fish really as far as the eye can see, so it’s quite a confronting scene,” he told ABC.
