In the most recent event, 2000 fish were found dead at Lake Hume, in the state’s southwest. The NSW government believes that the drought, along with the lowered water levels at the lake, helped the formation of algal bloom, which in turn deprived the lake of oxygen. This is the most recent case in a series of mass fish deaths in NSW. Other similar cases have been observed in Lake Keepit, Lake Burrendong and just out of Port Macquarie.
NSW Minister of Primary Industry, Niall Blair expects that more deaths will come, unless the weather changes soon. The government will use 16 aerators, to introduce oxygen back into the state’s worst affected rivers and lakes.
While the state government insists that the drought is the culprit, the Labor opposition in NSW says the problem is caused by lack of proper water planning.
Labor leader Michael Daley says the government did not heed warnings from New South Wales Fisheries when it proposed changes to the state’s water plan.
"They ignored the advice of their own experts and they went ahead and implemented that water-sharing plan and the results are now there for all the world to see."
The opposition has called for a taskforce composed of scientists to examine the cause of the fish deaths.
