Fish kill shock

FISHERMEN have been left devastated by a mass fish kill south of Townsville that included hundreds of prized barramundi.

Fish kill shock

FISHERMEN have been left devastated by a mass fish kill south of Townsville that ­included hundreds of prized barramundi.

Thousands of fish littered the waters and banks of Barratta Creek at Jerona, south of Townsville, leaving locals fearing there had been a mass ­poisoning.

But environment officers inspected the site yesterday and believe the kill was caused by a sudden loss of oxygen in the water after recent rain in the area.

North Queensland fisherman David Hodge said he had witnessed mass fish kills before but never in the Barratta Creek system.

“It’s a bit scary to see generations of fish that have gone and what you can see would only be a portion of what was there,” Mr Hodge said.

“For the area around here, one of the big tourist attractions is fishing and I think it will take a long time to recover because who knows how far downstream it’s had an effect?

“The barramundi are heading upstream in preparation for big rain during the wet ­season, so it’s bad timing.”

Mr Hodge said he hoped the kill was due to a natural phenomenon and not something more sinister.

“If it’s a naturally occurring event then no one is to blame, but if someone is to blame something needs to done,” he said.

“I would hate to think they died because of neglect or commercial operations pushing getting an income ahead of the environment.”

A Department of Environment spokeswoman told the Bulletin EHP had investigated reports of the kill, with officers seen at the site yesterday afternoon.

“Water monitoring undertaken on site identified low dissolved oxygen levels,” she said.

“Poor water quality and low dissolved oxygen levels can commonly occur at this time of year due to rainfall events and increased water temperatures.

“Barramundi, fingermark, mangrove jack and garfish have been identified among the dead fish.”

Members of the public are encouraged to report further fish deaths to the department’s pollution hotline on 1300 130 372.

Originally published as Fish kill shock