News Release
| Release Number: | 02-145 |
| Dated: | 8/29/2002 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-A regrettable combination of circumstances during a fish transport operation yesterday fatally affected nearly 80 chinook salmon in Fall Creek, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Fall Creek is a tributary of the Middle Fork Willamette River.
Chinook salmon were transported yesterday by tanker truck from below Fall Creek Dam and released upstream in Fall Creek. During the operation, the release chute became clogged with fish, requiring manual intervention, said Greg Taylor, Corps fishery biologist for the Willamette Valley Project.
The crew in charge of the operation said the fish looked okay yesterday when they entered the creek. Today, however, the dead fish were discovered. The Corps immediately notified the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Several factors contributed to the fish kill, Taylor said. "Apparently, the combination of stress, warm water temperatures (66 degrees) and the condition of the fish this late in the season was enough to cause delayed mortality," he said. The fisheries agencies and the Corps will continue coordination to minimize the chances of such unfortunate incidents in the future.