Council has recently been contacted regarding dead fish at the top end of York Cove, just below the bike track.
Our Council Officers have investigated and confirmed that 20-30 small dead mackerel were in the water and on the bank near the stormwater drain outfall. At the time of inspection, the tide was out and close to turning.
There have been a series of very low tides on the evenings of the 15th to 17th of December, and this, coupled with the inflow of fresh (stormwater) water into the estuary, most likely reduced the dissolved oxygen, resulting in the fish kill.
While there were a small number of dead fish in the estuary, there were also good numbers of fish swimming about, just outside of the freshwater/marine water mixing zone.
Council will continue to monitor the area and advise the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania if necessary.
