Hundreds of small dead fish have been seen floating and washing up along the River Derwent near Hobart, prompting an investigation by environmental authorities.
The fish, believed to be pilchards or sardines, were found scattered between Crayfish Point in Taroona and Long Beach in Sandy Bay on Saturday.
Locals reported seeing potentially thousands of fish both in the water and along the shoreline.
“Lots of dead fish on beach south … a bit disturbing,” one local wrote on social media.
Initial tests by Biosecurity Tasmania and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) detected pilchard orthomyxovirus (POMV) in samples collected over the weekend.
The virus is known to occur naturally in several fish species found in Tasmanian waters.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania has ruled out other common fish diseases, confirming that tests for conditions affecting farmed salmon came back negative.
Both Tasmanian rickettsia-like organism (TRLO) and P. salmonis were not detected in the samples. Further testing is currently underway to determine if additional factors contributed to the fish kill.
The current mortality event appears localised, though authorities are continuing to monitor the situation to determine its full extent and whether other marine species might be affected.
Environmental scientists are now working to figure out if this is a one-off event or a sign of wider issues in the Derwent Estuary.
