'The Smell Is Unbelievable': Millions of Dead Fish Float in Darling-Baaka River

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has stated that a “large-scale fish death event” in the lower Darling-Baaka River near Menindee, New South Wales, is due to “low oxygen levels in the water as flood waters recede”.

A statement from the government agency said that “millions” of bony herring, also known as bony bream, make up the bulk of the dead fish.

“This event is ongoing as a heatwave across western NSW continues to put further stress on a system that has experienced extreme conditions from wide-scale flooding,” the statement added.

The region experienced major flooding in January.

Local man Darryn Clifton, who is vice president of the Broken Hill and Darling River Action Group, captured footage of the fish from a railway bridge close to Menindee, adding that the smell was “unbelievable”.

Sharing the footage to a Facebook action group that aims to cover “the mismanagement of the Menindee Lakes and the once mighty Darling River”, Clifton said he couldn’t “believe” what he was seeing. Credit: Darryn Clifton via Storyful