That comes as no surprise to Griffith fisherman Andrew Simpson, who has been reeling in sickly looking Murray Cod from all around the Murray Darling this season.

"Five years ago you could go out and catch good-sized healthy looking cod. These days they're very few and the ones you do catch are in poor condition," Mr Simpson said.

"I can see now there's going to be a lot more fish kills this year with a lack of rain and water being so scarce, and I don't think there's going to be much improvement any time soon."

The fish kills have prompted the NSW Government's largest-ever native fish stocking program, with over 100,000 Murray Cod having been bred at a Narrandera hatchery in recent weeks.

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Mr Marshall said the stocking program was a drastic but necessary measure in the face of chronic drought conditions.

"With soaring temperatures and record low rainfall, we can't stop mass fish kills, but we can ensure we preserve and protect our native species and save them from an ecological disaster," Mr Marshall said.

However Member for Murray Helen Dalton dismissed the Murray Cod stocking program as a "token gesture", adding that the government was trying to shift blame away from itself and towards the drought.

"Of course we're experiencing drought, but I think the reason why we've had this fish kill is because of poor water management," Mrs Dalton said.

"The government is throwing good money after bad, when they shouldn't have had such poor policies in the first place," Mrs Dalton said.

The federal government is also bracing for a repeat of 2018's fish kills, setting aside $300,000 towards a Native Fish Emergency Response Plan.

The plan will be co-ordinated with state governments and will monitor at-risk sites and create refuge areas for native fish populations.

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