When a truck carrying more than 100,000 salmon crashed and overturned in Oregon, it could have been a disaster for the fish on board, which were intended to replenish local populations in the Imnaha River.
But by a miracle of fortune, more than 70,000 fish have landed in a nearby cove and are expected to survive.
The accident occurred March 29 in northeastern Oregon, according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The truck was transporting 102,000 spring Chinook smolts, or young salmon, in the phase of life in which they move from fresh water to the open ocean.
“The accident occurred on a sharp curve, the 53-foot truck rolled onto the passenger side, skidded sideways on the roadway, then went over a rock embankment, causing it to roll onto its roof,” the statement said. communicated.
The driver suffered minor injuries, according to the department.
The truck overturned near Lookingglass Creek, a tributary of the Grande Ronde River. Approximately 77,000 young salmon have reached the creek and are expected to return in coming years to spawn.
Not all fish were so lucky: 25,529 smolts died. Their bodies were found either in the tanker truck or on the creek bank, according to the release.
The salmon were to be released into the Imnaha River, a 77-mile-long stream in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. The lost smolts represent about 20 percent of the total salmon that will be released into the river this year, the release said. Because of this loss, “fisheries managers expect to see approximately 500 to 900 fewer adult fish return in 2026 and 2027,” according to the ministry.
The salmon are raised at the Lookingglass Hatchery, then brought back and released at Imnaha to help combat threats to their population, according to Seth White, a professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences. Oregon State University and director of the Oregon Fish Hatchery. Research Center. “The Imnaha River spring Chinook salmon population relies on hatcheries to maintain its numbers,” he told CNN in an email.
He explained that salmon are resilient animals, which will help many of them survive their unexpected fall into the stream.
“In many ways, salmon are very resilient and that’s why they have survived for millennia in a geologically active part of the world,” he told CNN. “Many salmon dumped into the stream will likely survive because they are adaptable – within limits – and can learn new environments quickly.”
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