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Mass fish deaths in Australia prompt debate on water use by upstream farmers
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New South Wales member of parliament Jeremy Buckingham (right) holds a decades-old native Murray cod, which was killed during a massive fish kill in Menindee on the Darling River, as local residents Dick Arnold (left) and Rob McBride from Tolarno Station (centre) look on.
PHOTO: AFP
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SYDNEY - Australia experienced a bizarre environmental disaster in recent weeks as more than a million fish died in an inland river, prompting debate about whether too much water is being extracted by farmers.
Two main instances of mass deaths have occurred - in December and earlier this month - in the lower Darling River, which forms part of the nation's food bowl. The incidents occurred near Menindee, a small outback town in western New South Wales. Other smaller outbreaks have also occurred.
