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Bizarre discovery on Lake Macquarie beach

Daniela PizziraniNCA NewsWire
Residents are questioning how safe the beach is. Supplied
Camera IconResidents are questioning how safe the beach is. Supplied Credit: NCA NewsWire

Residents have taken to social media to report sightings of thousands of fish and other sea life lying dead along the shores of a popular Lake Macquarie beach in NSW over the weekend.

Local resident Tony Povey said the dead fish, which included stingrays, were scattered along the shore of Manning Park on Saturday.

“I came down Saturday morning; there were thousands of fish, not hundreds, thousands,” he said.

The finding has stunned the community, with some locals questioning how safe the water is to fish and swim in.

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Thousands of dead fish have been found at Lake Macquarie. Picture: Supplied.
Camera IconThe dead fish were found along the shores at Lake Macquarie. Supplied Credit: NCA NewsWire

“I think there are more fish dying because the numbers on the shore seem to be growing, so it’s not just a one-off thing – whatever is happening, it still appears to be in the water,” Mr Povey said.

Local Darran Budeen said the mass deaths could be linked to a coal fired power station located in Manning Park.

“We’ve had 400mm (of rain) in a week (before) and I’ve never seen this,” he said.

“Never happened before; if the run-off would be here, it’d be from their ash dam, it’s just next door.”

But Vales Point Power Station owner Delta Electricity said there is no evidence to suggest the station had anything to due with the beached marine life.

“There are no abnormal operations at the station which would suggest that Vales Point has anything to do with the issue,” a spokeswoman said.

The growing numbers have triggered the NSW Environment Protection Authority to collect samples from the dead species.

Thousands of dead fish have been found at Lake Macquarie. Picture: Supplied.
Camera IconResidents are questioning how safe the beach is. Supplied Credit: NCA NewsWire

Authorities believe greying around fish gills of the dead sealife indicates they were subject to suffocation in hypoxia blackwater following weeks of rain in the region.

“Our initial observations noticed a greying of the gills of the dead fish, which suggests a lack of oxygen in the water,” an Environment Protection Authority spokesperson said.

“Blackwater events can be caused by nutrients washing into storm water drains – such as leaf litter from trees, lawn clippings form gardens – which lead into waterways such as Lake Macquarie.”

Authorities have urged residents to steer clear of the popular shoreline until testing is completed.

More to come.

Originally published as Bizarre discovery on Lake Macquarie beach

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