PanamaTimes

Sunday, Aug 31, 2025

Millions Of Dead Fish Clog Australian River

Millions Of Dead Fish Clog Australian River

Videos posted to social media showed boats ploughing through a blanket of dead fish smothering the water, with the surface barely visible underneath.
Millions of dead and rotting fish have clogged a vast stretch of river near a remote town in the Australian outback as a searing heatwave sweeps through the region.

Videos posted to social media showed boats ploughing through a blanket of dead fish smothering the water, with the surface barely visible underneath.

The New South Wales government said on Friday that "millions" of fish had died in the Darling River near the small town of Menindee, in the third mass kill to hit the area since 2018.

"It's horrific really, there's dead fish as far as you can see," Menindee local Graeme McCrabb told AFP.

"It's surreal to comprehend," he said, adding this year's fish kill appeared to be worse than previous ones.

"The environmental impact is unfathomable."

Populations of fish such as bony herring and carp had boomed in the river following recent floods, according to the state government, but were now dying off in huge numbers as floodwaters receded.

"These fish deaths are related to low oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia) as flood waters recede," the government said in a statement.

"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."

Previous fish kills at Menindee -- about 12 hours' drive west of Sydney -- have been blamed on a lack of water in the river due to prolonged drought, and a toxic algal bloom that stretched over 40 kilometres (24 miles).

"Unfortunately this won't be the last," the NSW government warned in 2019.

State government fisheries spokesman 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 the ABC.

Menindee has a population of some 500 people and has been ravaged by both drought and flooding in recent years.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Air Canada Begins Flight Cancellations Ahead of Flight Attendant Lockout
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After 'Accidentally Forgetting' Two Blind Passengers at New Orleans Airport and Faces Criticism Over Poor Service for Passengers with Disabilities
Mexico Extradites 26 Cartel Figures to the United States in Coordinated Security Operation
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Spain Scraps F-35 Jet Deal as Trump Pushes for More NATO Spending
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
California Clinic Staff Charged for Interfering with ICE Arrest
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
×