Thousands of dead fish wash up on Gold Coast beach
Residents have expressed outrage and a council has started a clean-up, but authorities have said the water is safe for swimming.
Residents on Queensland’s opulent Gold Coast have expressed outrage after thousands of dead fish washed up on a popular beach.
Locals reported as early as Saturday a mass die-off washing up on The Marine Stadium at The Spit, at the northern end of the Gold Coast.
The state government and the Gold Coast Waterways Authority are understood to be investigating the incident and leading the clean-up.
In a statement, the authority said it had inspected the area on October 1 and observed dead baitfish.
“However, no obvious source of pollution was found,” the spokesperson said.
“Onsite water quality monitoring indicated high water temperature and low dissolved oxygen in the area, which can cause fish deaths.
“City of Gold Coast Council collected water samples, which will be reviewed as results become available.”
In a statement, a Gold Coast City Council spokesperson said water quality testing had confirmed the water was safe for swimming.
“But, we are asking people to avoid the area while clean up is underway,” the spokesperson said.
“The City is working with the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation who are investigating this matter.”
Save Our Southern Gold Coast leader Kath Down called on authorities to improve signage and the speed of clean-up at the site.
She described the situation as “a biohazard” and, in a video posted on Monday, confronted council workers at the beach.
“Two days later and we still don’t have a clean-up,” she said in the video.
In a separate video, Ms Down raised concerns about the reason for the fish kill
“This is unsafe, and these fish need to be tested because they may have been chased around by predators, but we don’t know that until the tests are done,” she said.
Swimming at The Marine Stadium at The Spit was given the green light last month following Cyclone Alfred.
A September 27 sample, available on the council’s website, reported the water quality as “good” and that pollution was unlikely.
Originally published as Thousands of dead fish wash up on Gold Coast beach
