By 
By Khulile Thwala
Australia’s second-longest river has witnessed a massive death of fish and the cause is likely low oxygen levels in the water.
Footage shows a slick of thousands of fish bodies blanketing the surface of the Darling River near the town of Menindee in New South Wales, west of Sydney Australia.
Authorities have attributed the massive death to dissolved oxygen levels and state fisheries officers in Australia have been sent to assess the situation, with the rotting carcasses causing a putrid stench for residents in the area.
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A report by Sky News says the massive death follows previous large-scale fish deaths in the same area in 2018 and 2019 as a result of poor water quality and sudden temperature changes.
The state planning and environment agency in the New South Wales area warned river oxygen levels could fall further this past weekend as temperatures rise before cooler conditions return next week.
The area’s Department of Planning and Environment’s water division said in a post on Twitter that dissolved oxygen levels remain a concern for fish health.
“There is a large number of fish deaths (predominantly bony herring) in the Darling River between Lake Wetherell and Menindee township.”
