Thousands of young salmon have died in a road crash in Oregon.
The 102,000 young salmon were being transported in a tanker truck to the Imnaha River, near Lookingglass Hatchery in northeast Oregon, last Friday when the driver took a sharp turn.
The truck rolled onto its passenger side, skidded on the pavement and fell over an embankment, Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) said in a statement. The vehicle then rolled onto its roof.
The accident killed around 25,529 of the fish, but 77,000 fish made it into Lookingglass Creek. Those that died were later recovered by officials.
The Chinook salmon is the largest Pacific salmon species. Adults can reach a weight of 50 pounds, although the average adult weight is between 10 to 25 pounds. The species is Oregon's state fish.
Wildlife divisions work to release the species into the river to ensure a healthy population. Various threats target the species, such as habitat degradation and, in some areas, predation from invasive species.
"The Union County Sheriff's Department responded immediately and assisted with on-scene assessments and vehicle recovery operations," the ODFW's statement said. "Small amounts of diesel fuel were quickly contained and did not result in a hazardous material spill response."
The employee who had been driving the truck suffered only minor injuries.
"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 ODFW's statement said.
The ODFW notified fish managers of the incident, who helped assess the carcasses for tags used to estimate how many adult salmon can be expected in the river.
The young salmon that died were about 20 percent of the total set to be released into the Imnaha River in 2024, according to the ODFW.
Officials are now expecting to see 500 to 900 fewer adult fish in the river because of the accident. The fish were to be counted in 2026 and 2027.
The ODFW estimates that the 77,000 fish that survived will result in 350 to 700 adults.
"We are thankful the ODFW employee driving the truck was not seriously injured," Andrew Gibbs, ODFW fish hatchery coordinator for eastern Oregon, said in the statement. "This should not impact our ability to collect future brood stock or maintain full production goals in the future."
The Chinook fish species is very valuable, meaning that its conservation is a vital task for wildlife divisions.
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