Flood, Clog, Alarm Failure Lead To Loss Of 1 Million Chinook Smolts At North Sound Hatchery

More details are coming out about the loss of Chinook fry at a North Sound hatchery earlier this week.

WDFW reports that around 1 million smolts were lost at Samish Hatchery very early Monday morning as a result of a mechanical failure after leaves and other debris clogged a rotating intake screen following heavy rains and an alarm that should have alerted agency staffers to clean it out “failed to trigger due to an issue with the electrical breaker.”

Another million young Chinook in the same pond survived and will soon be fin-clipped along with others reared elsewhere in the hatchery complex for release in support of sport and commercial fisheries and southern resident killer whale forage production efforts.

“While the loss of these Chinook is very unfortunate, and steps will be taken to prevent further incidents, WDFW does not expect there will be significant negative impacts to orcas, Puget Sound salmon fisheries, or future hatchery operations from this loss of fry as the Samish Hatchery has seen surplus returns of Chinook in recent years,” a WDFW statement out this morning says.

The electrical issue is also being investigated so as to prevent similar failures in the future, WDFW stated.

The hatchery complex, located along Old Highway 99 North north of Burlington, is comanaged with the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe and rears 6 million fall Chinook.