More than 60,000 Murray cod fingerlings have been returned to the Darling River.

A few dozen Murray cod rescued from mass fish kills in 2019 have been bred into a new stock of thousands.

NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall says their reintroduction will have a range of benefits.

“By doing this, we hope that we can begin to restore not only their sense of community, but also their love of recreational fishing in the river system and building back the health,” he said.

Premier Gladys Berejikilan and Mr Marshall visited the town of Menindee this week to see the fish release and talk with community groups.

“We know that the scarcity of water and water supply in western NSW is the biggest issue,” Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday.

“What we try to do as a Government is to resolve – or not really have – the issues of the north versus the south of western NSW.

“It's about one system and how we can best manage it, and we're working closely with local communities and experts with what further we can do.”

Locals say that if the region does not receive adequate inflows by this time next year, the conditions that led to the deaths of thousands of fish would be repeated.