More than 100,000 live salmon were spilled onto the road when a truck transporting them crashed and flipped over – but most of them had a lucky escape.
The 16m (53ft) truck rolled over on a sharp turn, skidded on its side and then went over a rocky embankment, which led to it tipping onto its roof, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).
The tanker truck was carrying around 102,000 spring Chinook smolts (young salmon) to be released in the Imnaha River.
Around 77,000 fell into the Lookingglass Creek and should end up in the river, meaning thankfully the majority of the fish should survive.
And the truck driver only sustained minor injuries.
Fish hatchery coordinator for Eastern Oregon at ODFW, Andrew Gibbs, said: ‘We are thankful the ODFW employee driving the truck was not seriously injured.
‘This should not impact our ability to collect future brood stock or maintain full production goals in the future.’
It comes after thousands of eels were recently found dead in a freshwater stream in New Zealand.
It is the second mass eel death in the country this year, sparking an investigation by environment officials under the Ministry for Primary Industries.
More than 3,500 juvenile eels were discovered dead in the Kauritutahi stream, on the northernmost flank of North Island.
While the first incident was attributed directly to a toxic pollutant, what killed the eels in Kauritutahi was not immediately clear.
Authorities suspect it may be due to a ‘stress event’ linked to climate change, but this remains unconfirmed, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Rissa Williams, Biosecurity NZ acting team manager, said: ‘It is possible that the mortality could have been caused by a stress event.’
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