SYDNEY: “Hundreds of thousands” of fish had died in drought-stricken Australia in the last few days and more mass deaths were likely to occur, the authorities warned Tuesday. Locals around the Darling River were confronted with a sea of white, as dead fish carpeted the waters near the southeastern Outback town of Menindee. Just weeks after up to a million were killed — with scientists pointing to low water and oxygen levels as well as possibly toxic algae — another mass death occurred in the key food growing region. Inspectors from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries have visited the site and said they found that “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 in a statement. The Darling River is part of the Murray-Darling River system that stretches thousands of kilometres across several states.AFP
