Fish died in dry system

A LACK of water in the Darling River system – due to the drought and excess use by irrigators – led to the death of millions of fish.

An expert panel yesterday handed down a report into three major fish kills near Menindee in December and January.

“There isn’t enough water in the Darling system to avoid catastrophic outcomes,” panel chair Professor Craig Moritz said, adding it was “partly due to the ongoing drought” but also because of “excess water extraction upstream”.