in a fortunate turn of events amidst a potential disaster, a truck carrying tens of thousands of baby salmon crashed on its journey to a river in Oregon. The incident occurred on March 29 when the 53-foot-long vehicle, transporting 102,000 spring Chinook salmon to the Imnaha River in northeastern Oregon, overturned on a sharp bend, spilling most of its cargo into a nearby creek.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the tanker truck skidded off the road alongside a tributary of the Grande Ronde River, known as Lookingglass Creek. Despite the accident, the driver sustained only minor injuries.
Remarkably, around 77,000 of the young salmon, or smolts, managed to survive by instinctively leaping into the creek, as reported by wildlife officials. However, an unfortunate 25,529 smolts perished, with their carcasses recovered from both within the tanker and along the streambank.
Officials expressed hope that the surviving smolts in Lookingglass Creek would navigate their way to the Grande Ronde River, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean. Andrew Gibbs, the ODFW fish hatchery coordinator for eastern Oregon, emphasized the silver lining in the situation, stating, “The silver lining for me is 77,000 [salmon] did make it into the creek and did not perish. They hit the water running.”
The original plan to release smolts into the Imnaha River aimed to supplement the local wild population, which faces threats largely due to the construction of dams along the lower Snake River in the 1960s and early 1970s. Decades of drought and declining river levels across the American West have further contributed to a steep decline in salmon populations.
Chinook salmon, being anadromous, hatch in freshwater rivers and streams before migrating to the ocean to feed and grow. After spending up to six years in saltwater, the salmon return upstream to spawn before eventually perishing. Smolts released into the Imnaha River typically spend a few days acclimating in a purpose-built pool before embarking on their 650-mile-long journey to the Pacific Ocean.
The loss of the smolts in the crash represents approximately 20% of the total number of fish the ODFW had planned to release into the Imnaha River this year. Fishery managers anticipate a reduction of about 500 to 900 adult fish returning in 2026 and 2027 due to this loss. However, the smolts propelled into Lookingglass Creek may contribute to the population if they successfully reach the ocean, potentially giving rise to between 350 and 700 adults in the future.