Australia wonders what management of the waters it is carrying out and if the death of millions of fish that appeared floating in the Darling River last Friday and that are still crowded on the banks of the dry riverbed could have been prevented. Different varieties of perch and carp, including Murray's perch, the largest fish in Australian freshwaters and one of the most widely consumed in the country, have been affected by this combination of drought, evaporation of water and management of the water resources that could spread to other parts of Australia, specifically towards Pooncarie, near the borders of the states of South Australia and Victoria.
The tragedy that has generated many doubts about the reason for this phenomenon, which is not the first time it has occurred. While some point to a questionable management of water levels, the fact is that these deaths have the same origin as what happened in the same place in 2019: the lack of oxygen in the water. Now it is urgent to clean up the water, since this situation affects the communities that depend on the river for water.
Given the seriousness of the facts, the politicians requested, this weekend, the urgent elimination of these millions of fish that clog the waters of the Darling River. The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment assured that they are monitoring and studying the situation and warned that the extreme temperatures in which the country is currently in may cause more mass deaths of fish in the coming days.
This situation affects the communities that depend on the river for water, something that the senator of New South Wales, Perin Davey, underlined in the statements she made this weekend and that she recalled through her social networks. In addition, she emphasized the fact that this situation affects the communities that depend on the river for water.
“The current natural event that we are seeing, with hundreds of thousands of dead fish floating along the Darling, provides an opportunity to test the cleanup options that scientists have considered under the carp control program,” he said.
In addition, he added that, regardless of the cause, they are facing a "catastrophe" and called on the federal governments to act immediately "to clean up the millions of rotten fish that extend for kilometers of the river."
“The current natural event that we are seeing, with hundreds of thousands of dead fish floating along the Darling, provides an opportunity to test the cleanup options that scientists have considered under the carp control program,” he said.
In addition, he added that, regardless of the cause, they are facing a "catastrophe" and called on the federal governments to act immediately "to clean up the millions of rotten fish that extend for kilometers of the river."
The Menindee-based Emergency Operations Centre, overseen by NSW Police, will work with other agencies to remove and dispose of fish and maintain clean water flows into the city and surrounding areas, the channel notes. ABC public.
The Darling River, together with the Murray, form a basin that drains one of Australia's most significant agricultural areas. Throughout its route, these waters experience important diversions for municipal supplies of drinking water for irrigated agriculture. They do this by using 4 large reservoirs, 14 lock and weir structures, and 5 coastal barriers to intercept the water flowing from both rivers.
Bearing in mind that the "anatomy" of this basin entails effective management and review of the state of the water, the authorities are the main ones blamed for the events by the inhabitants of Meindee. Since they believe that this situation could have been avoided with effective work, since it is not the first time it has happened.
In this sense, the residents of the area, Menindee, spoke. In statements to the Guardian of Australia, they assured that this was the largest of the previous mass deaths (the one in 2019). “The river is just white. I'm looking at probably a mile or a mile of fish and they're all dead. It's unfathomable," said neighbor Graeme McCrabb.
For his part, the spokesman for the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries assured that the death of the fish was due to low oxygen levels in the water. “The current hot weather in the region is also exacerbating hypoxia, as warmer water contains less oxygen than cold water, and fish have higher oxygen needs at warmer temperatures,” he noted.
“This event continues as a heat wave in western NSW continues to put further pressure on a system that has experienced extreme conditions due to large-scale flooding,” it added.
Through a statement, the authorities have curbed the concern of the public, noting that "the initial evaluation has determined multiple viable solutions to maintain the water supply to the municipality and its surroundings." In the letter, they attributed the massive death of the fish to low oxygen levels" in the water coupled with a strong heat wave.
For their part, the police reported this Sunday that state agencies "release specific amounts of higher quality water to increase oxygen levels" and prevent new deaths.
The town of Menindee already suffered a similar case in 2019, as the residents of the area well remembered. In a time of drought, millions of fish were found floating dead in the waters of the Darling River. The authorities of the area were pointed out as the main responsible for this catastrophe, due to the management problems of the Darling River.
And it is that the East and Murray River Basin Authority was the one who ordered the drainage of the Menindee lakes in 2014 and 2017 to cover the water demand of other residents and farmers in the region. It is for this reason that now, the residents of the area blame the authorities again and emphasize the mismanagement of the river water in the area.
