Understanding the impacts of extreme events is essential to effective fisheries management. During the summer of 2018–19 millions of native fish died in Lower Darling–Baaka River adjacent to Menindee, New South Wales, Australia. Hypoxia during a period of protracted low flow, triggered by climatic events, was responsible for the fish kills. From June 2019 to March 2020, further broader-scale fish kills occurred throughout ~600 km of the Darling–Baaka River as disconnected refuge pools contracted and water quality deteriorated. This study examined the status of the remnant fish populations, compared the fish assemblage of the Menindee fish death reach with an unaffected reach and monitored change of the fish community over 18 months after the initial fish kills. Significantly lower abundances of Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), bony herring (Nematalosa erebi), carp gudgeon (Hypseleotris spp.) and freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium australiense) were captured within the Menindee fish death reach compared with the unaffected reach. Varied responses were observed in species abundances within the affected reach in the 18 months after the initial fish kills, attributed to the various life-history traits and reproductive strategies. The results presented highlight a fish community in continued stress. Continued monitoring will guide and track the effectiveness of recovery management interventions in the region.

了解极端事件的影响对于有效的渔业管理至关重要。2018 年夏季，澳大利亚新南威尔士州梅宁迪附近的下达令 -巴卡河中有 19 百万条本地鱼类死亡。由气候事件引发的长期低流量期间的缺氧是导致鱼类死亡的原因。从 2019 年 6 月到 2020 年 3 月，在达令 -巴卡河约 600 公里的范围内发生了更大规模的鱼类死亡事件河流作为断开的避难池收缩，水质恶化。这项研究检查了残余鱼类种群的状况，比较了 Menindee 鱼类死亡区域与未受影响区域的鱼类组合，并监测了最初鱼类死亡后 18 个月内鱼类群落的变化。默里鳕鱼（的显著低丰度Maccullochella peelii），鲱鱼骨（Nematalosa erebi），鲤鱼耳轴（Hypseleotris spp）和淡水虾（沼australiense) 与未受影响的范围相比，在 Menindee 鱼类死亡范围内捕获。在最初的鱼类死亡后的 18 个月内，在受影响范围内的物种丰度方面观察到了不同的反应，这归因于各种生活史特征和繁殖策略。所呈现的结果突出了处于持续压力下的鱼类群落。持续监测将指导和跟踪该地区恢复管理干预措施的有效性。