Fish-kill reporting
Who to report to
If you observe a fish kill, call the DERM pollution hotline: 1300 130 372
What you should report
When reporting a fish kill, you should provide as much of the following information as possible:
- Your name, address, and contact number in case the investigating scientist requires further information.
- The exact location of the fish kill, and an estimate of the area affected.
- The date and time of your discovery, and an estimate of when you believe the event might have happened.
- Weather conditions at the time of your discovery and for the previous 24 hours.
- An estimate of the number and size of fish affected, and the types of fish or other animals such as crabs involved.
- Whether there are sick or dying fish present, and if so, how they are behaving.
- Whether there are unaffected fish present.
- If there are only dead specimens present, their state of decay, and whether some are less decayed than others.
- Whether there are any unusual or abnormal materials present (such as oil slicks, discoloured water, recently dumped rubbish).
- Whether you have taken any samples of dead fish, affected water, or other materials, and where you are keeping them (see next section).
- Any other factual information which could be relevant, such as industries or agricultural activities in the vicinity of the fish-kill.
Taking samples
Because of the speed with which dead fish deteriorate and contaminated water flows away, it may help a subsequent investigation if you take on-the-spot samples of:
- both dead and dying fish (and any other animals affected)
- sediments (mud or sand) from the water in which you found the dead fish
- the surrounding water
- any materials such as oil slicks or other foreign matter in the water.
Storing samples
Clearly label all samples with a waterproof marker.
Store samples in clean containers—glass jars or bottles are best, but you can use plastic if glass is not available.
- Plastic bags are acceptable for dead fish.
- Large (1–2 litre) soft drink bottles are ideal for storing water samples.
- Jam jars (150 grams or bigger) are ideal for storing sediment.
Anything smaller than these sizes is of limited value for chemical analysis.
Pre-clean bottles and jars with hot water, and rinse them several times in the water being sampled before you take a sample.
If possible, take several samples of each type, for example:
- at least 3 fish
- 3 sediment samples
- 3 bottles of water.
If you suspect that the source of contamination is a discharge or drain site, take samples both upstream and downstream of this, and mark the sampling site clearly on the label. l
Keep all samples in a refrigerator, or on ice. If the area is remote and/or you don't expect an investigator to collect the samples for more than 24 hours, store them in a deep freeze if possible.
Note: When freezing water samples, ensure you leave an airspace of about 20% of the volume to allow for expansion.
Investigating fish kills
The Fish Kill Reporting and Investigation Manual, published in 1998, provides a standard science-based protocol for responding to reported fish kill incidents.
Last updated: 08 September 2006