Locals Sickened By 'fish Graveyard'

[mrmoshe]

Locals sickened by 'fish graveyard'

November 28, 2008

RIVERLAND residents want Murray cod relocated from Lake Bonney at Barmera in South Australia into the River Murray to stop them from dying in the drought.

Hundreds of golden perch, redfin, bony bream and carp have been found dead on the shores of the lake, where 10 dead Murray cod also have been found.

The dead fish have not been found at the township end of the lake but on northeastern and northwestern shores 5km away.

Regular Riverland visitor Kelly Lewtas, from Salisbury Heights, found several dead cod on the shore last weekend.

One cod, estimated to be about 25 years old, was more than 1.3m long - almost as tall as her son Jack, 8. "It was a sickening sight . . . it's like a graveyard," she said.

Freelance fishing writer and photographer Brian Bochow said the poor water quality of the lake, which has been blocked off from the River Murray for 14 months, would have caused the fish deaths.

"The authorities should go ahead and try to relocate huge cod as much as they possibly can," Mr Bochow said. "It's a bit of a shame to see cod that size dead."

The SA State Government began partially refilling the lake with 10 gigalitres of water on Wednesday and has not yet determined why the fish have died.

[glennmreid]

very sad news, particularly seeing the older fish dying like that.