Human Error Caused Death of Chinook Salmon during Move

STANLEY, Idaho (AP) — An employee mistake likely led to the death of 160 adult Chinook salmon being transported from a fish hatchery to a river to spawn earlier this week. The Department of Fish and Game reported Friday the fish died while being shipped from Sawtooth Hatchery near Stanley to the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River, about 40 miles away.

In Wednesday's incident, the Fish and Game employee noticed many of the fish were stressed and dying. It appears to have been caused by a lack of oxygen, the result of an employee error in operating the transport truck's life support systems.

The wildlife agency insists there won't be much impact to production of Chinook salmon. Still, it's reviewing procedures, to prevent this from re-occurring, says fish production manager Gary Byrne.

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