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25,000 Chinook smolts die from Oregon truck accident
“We are thankful the ODFW employee driving the truck was not seriously injured," said Oregon DFW
April 4, 2024 By Hatchery International staff
Over 25,000 Chinook smolts have died after a fish tanker truck was involved in an accident. (Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Over 25,000 Chinook smolts have died after a fish tanker truck was involved in an accident. The truck was transporting about 102,000 spring Chinook smolts for release in the Imnaha River, OR.
According to a press release from The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the employee who was driving the truck on March 29 is safe but received minor injuries.
The accident occurred near Lookingglass Hatchery, on a sharp corner with the 53-foot truck rolling onto the passenger side, skidding on its side on the pavement, and then going over a rocky embankment causing it to roll onto its roof.
(Photo: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)
“We are thankful the ODFW employee driving the truck was not seriously injured, said Andrew Gibbs, ODFW fish hatchery coordinator for Eastern Oregon. “This should not impact our ability to collect future brood stock or maintain full production goals in the future.”
About 77,000 smolts entered the creek when the tanker overturned. The dead smolts’ carcasses were recovered either in the tanker or on the streambank. The smolts lost represent about 20 percent of the total that will be released into the Imnaha River in 2024. Fishery managers expect to see about 500-900 fewer adult fish returning in 2026 and 2027 due to the loss.
Small amounts of diesel fuel were quickly contained and did not result in a hazardous material spill response.
Lookingglass Hatchery raises spring Chinook as part of hydropower mitigation under the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan, for tribal and sport harvest, and to supplement the wild population on the Imnaha which is listed as threatened.
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