RIGGINS, ID – An equipment failure at a fish hatchery in Central Idaho resulted in the loss of over a million newly hatched chinook salmon.

Idaho Fish and Game reported on Monday that the problem at the Rapid River Hatchery near Riggins was discovered last week on Tuesday.  A pump supplying oxygenated water for newly hatched chinook failed.  The alarm to alert staff of the problem also failed which resulted in the loss of 1.2 million fish.  That’s about a third of the hatchery’s annual production of chinook.

Those fish were set to be released in the spring of 2027 to migrate down the Salmon and Snake Rivers to the Pacific.  The lost chinook would have been set to return to Central Idaho in 2028, 2029 and 2030.  Idaho Fish and Game staff are working to fix the problem and will coordinate with other hatcheries to try to make up for the lost chinook.