iStockphoto / randimal
A wild incident occurred in Oregon late last week when a semi-truck carrying over 102,000 Chinook salmon smolts crashed on a sharp corner and overturned, spilling into a rocky embankment on Lookingglass Creek.
While the circumstances weren’t ideal, it wasn’t a total disaster for all of the salmon as an estimated 77,000 made it into the creek and swam away.
The driver was treated for minor injuries, according to an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife release, and they also have solid estimates of what the loss of salmon smolts will do for population numbers in that area in the coming years.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The ODFW estimates that the 25,529 Chinook salmon smolts that were lost in the accident will lead to an estimated “500-900 fewer adult fish returning in 2026 and 2027.” And of the 77,000+ Chinook salmon that made it into Lookingglass Creek in Oregon, they estimated that around 350-700 of those fish will make it to adulthood and return to the creek to spawn.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Andrew Gibbs is an ODFW fish hatchery coordinator for Eastern Oregon. Gibbs shared some positive news of the fish loss, saying “this should not impact our ability to collect future brood stock or maintain full production goals in the future.”
Of course, the story of the lost salmon was picked up by local news:
It is hard to imagine how much that fishtanker weighed carrying 102,000 Chinook salmon fry while full of water. Those hairpin mountain roads in Oregon are tricky in a sporty vehicle. I cannot imagine the challenge of driving a fully-loaded semi-truck on those roads.