VOICE of BYRON regular, Councillor Cate Coorey, shared this story and pictures about a dreadful fish kill at Tallow Creek, Byron Bay.
Cate says, “On Friday afternoon the NPWS cleaned up the thousands of dead fish around the mouth of the Tallow Creek estuary, and by Saturday morning they had been replaced by thousands more.
“This is because someone dug out and opened the creek to the sea.
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“The fish kill now appears to be complete, with little sign of life left in the estuary. There are no longer a multitude of fish gasping for breath around the edges of the estuary as they all appear to have died. A solitary mud crab had taken to the shore, apparently the water was even too toxic for it. A few live fish survived in the outflow channel.
“Many thousands of fish have been killed, and the countless multitudes of fingerlings gone. These are the bay fish we need to replenish fish stocks. There were lots of whiting, flathead and bream.
“It is a complete ecological disaster.
“The estuary will need to start from scratch to rebuild its ecosystem. Whoever did this is a barbarian. There is even a sign up there to tell people it is illegal to open the estuary.
“On a brighter note, a turtle (probably Loggerhead) came ashore the last two nights, with one hopefully successful nesting last night – see last picture of its tracks. Please if you are in the area remind people to keep off the dunes … and NO DOGS!
“Thanks to Dailan Pugh for his photos and information.”
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