Another fish die-off, this time in Australia with again thousands of unexplained dead fish

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NO-ONE seems to know the cause of a mass fish kill along kilometres of the Cooloola Coast where thousands of carcasses are covering beaches.

There were about 10 to 15 fish (about 100mm or a bit larger) a metre, at least 10,000 fish washed up on one 800m stretch alone. And there are kilometers.

australia die-off, australia fish die-off, Many thousands of fish, thought to be a small species of leatherjacket, have washed up dead along the Cooloola Coast.
Many thousands of fish, thought to be a small species of leatherjacket, have washed up dead along the Cooloola Coast. via Gympie Times

After this week-end’s hail apocalypse, Australia is experiencing another traumatic event: Thousands of dead fish were reported to Department of Environment and Heritage Protection between Teewah and Double Island Point.

And thousands more have been reported to The Gympie Times as lining the tide line along more than 1km at Rainbow Beach.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers from Rainbow Beach had also noted dead fish during their beach patrols.

The representative said the department had received two reports so far through its pollution hotline, involving large numbers of fish between Teewah and DIP.

Rainbow Beach resident Ian Giesemann, who supplied the photograph (above) said they looked like leatherjackets.

They are a small species of leatherjacket that often gather in dense schools, sometimes in plague proportions and die. They are also a common trawler by-catch fish. They float when they die and sometimes wash up. It often happens on Fraser Island.

The fish have mostly washed up over a large, relatively uninhabited area, the fish will be left to decompose naturally.

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