Native fish bred from those rescued from the Darling-Baaka River during the 2019 fish kills were released back into the system at Menindee on Friday in a ceremony designed to address the collective trauma of the ecological disaster.
An estimated 1 million native fish died in the 2019 fish kills, including large numbers of endangered Murray cod. The Narrandera fisheries centre, run by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, helped rescue many fish stranded in the dwindling water supply and toxic blue green algae blooms. Twenty Murray cod, 24 silver perch and 17 golden perch were relocated from Menindee to Narrandera for breeding to help restock fish in the Darling-Baaka River.
It was the worst fish kill recorded in the Murray-Darling until March this year, when up to 20 million fish died in a catastrophic event that saw floating carcasses blanket the river for 30km.
On Friday, 500 offspring of some of the silver perch rescued in 2019 were released into the Menindee Lakes, following a ceremony held at the junction of the Darling-Baaka and Menindee creek. They join 113,000 Murray cod and 60,000 golden perch fingerlings released into the river at Menindee since 2020.
The ceremony, called “Pangala: Returning Home”, was a collaboration between Barkindji custodians, the Cad Factory, the Narrandera fisheries centre, the National Museum of Australia, and West Darling Arts. Videos of Barjkindji custodians and artwork from the Menindee primary school were projected onto the trees at dusk.
Barkindji man Dave Doyle said the ceremony was part of rebuilding the community’s connection to the river, which he said was one of the most critical aspects in rebuilding its health.
“We’ve got to come together and move forward by celebrating those great achievements that we make, because Menindee is much more than a fish kill,” he said. “There is heaps more to do here, there is heaps more to see and there is heaps more to celebrate here than the destruction that happens with a mass fish kill, like we’ve just seen.”
Barbara Quayle, a Barkandji member of the Menindee community, recalled the solemnity and sadness she witnessed when fish struggled to find oxygen in the polluted river.
“I took a photo that day [in 2019] of some elders standing up on the weir and the solemn look on their face said it all,” Quayle said. “It was just so sad to see.”
Quayle said her parents set fishing lines to take Murray cod out of the deoxygenated water and recalled fish were “swimming into people’s arms to help them to breathe”.
“It was like these fish were welcoming the arms of the men that were rescuing them, there wasn’t much fight left in these fish,” she said.
“There were some elders sitting up on the top of the bank and they said nothing, they sat in silence, probably in disbelief of what had to happen.”
Vic McEwan, from the Cad Factory, said they hoped the event would provide “a sense of beauty and wonder; we can look at complex things like grief and we can understand that grief is also full of love and beauty, these things aren’t separate”.
Matthew McLellan, the hatchery manager at the fisheries centre, said releasing the silver perch fingerlings gave them “an opportunity to close that loop and bring back some progeny of those fish that were rescued”.
The celebration also included a river cleansing rescue, reflecting the Darling-Baaka’s traditional role as a source of clean water for the community and the environment.
Cheryl Blore, a Barkandji elder and one of the presenters of the event, said that having the opportunity to share stories amid the setting of artworks and an illuminated river was an important event in fostering understanding and connection.
“It was really amazing, a very spiritual feeling on the Baaka and having those fish there swimming around, I am very proud of tonight, “ she said.
“Sharing what we know and how we feel is important.”
