Wrong river fish accident kills thousands of salmon babies, makes global news
(The Center Square) – A fish tanker truck was involved in an accident near Lookingglass Hatchery in northeast Oregon last week, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the smelly mishap is making news around the world.
The truck was transporting about 102,000 spring Chinook smolts to release into the Imnaha River.
The ODFW employee driving the truck suffered minor injuries but was not seriously harmed. The accident happened on a sharp corner, with the 53-foot truck rolling onto the passenger side. The truck skidded on its side on the pavement. It then went over a rocky embankment and rolled onto its roof.
Lookingglass Creek is a tributary of the Grande Ronde River. While approximately 77,000 smolts ended up making it into the creek, about 25,000 of them died due to the accident.
The Union County Sheriff’s Department responded promptly to the accident to assist with vehicle recovery operations. Traces of diesel fuel that had spilled were contained, limiting that threat.
“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,” the release explained.
ODFW told fishery co-managers, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation about the incident shortly after it happened.
NPT staff offered further assistance in collecting, counting, and scanning the dead fish for PIT tags (Passive Integrated Transponders).
“Information collected from PIT tags, including those that weren’t released, will help ensure the best possible estimates of survival and future adult returns,” the release said.
The losses represent about 20% of the smolts scheduled to be released into the Imnaha River in 2024.
As a result of the loss, fishery managers think the area will see between 500 and 900 fewer adult fish returning in 2026 and 2027.
“We are thankful the ODFW employee driving the truck was not seriously injured,” Andrew Gibbs, ODFW fish hatchery coordinator for Eastern Oregon, said in a release. “This should not impact our ability to collect future brood stock or maintain full production goals in the future.”
The incident made international news, with news outlets like The New York Times, BBC, and The Daily Telegraph also covering it.
It is not the first time an incident like this has happened. A tanker truck crash in Oregon 10 years ago killed 11,000 juvenile salmon; the truck was carrying about 227,000 salmon, meaning that most of these salmon survived. The driver of the vehicle suffered a concussion and a broken shoulder, according to KSBW.
