Hundreds of thousands of fish dead in NSW as bushfire ash washed into river

Ecologist fears the Macleay River may take decades to recover, with heavy rains likely to affect other waterways

Hundreds of thousands of native fish are estimated to have died in northern New South Wales after rains washed ash and sludge from bushfires into the Macleay River.

Parts of the Macleay River - favoured by recreational fishers - have been turned into what locals described as "runny cake mix" that stank of rotting vegetation and dead fish.