Electrical problem kills 600,000 salmon in N. Idaho hatchery

About 600,000 young spring chinook salmon have died at a northern Idaho fish hatchery after an electrical problem stopped water from circulating.

The Nez Perce Tribe tells the Lewiston Tribune that the fish died at the Kooskia National Fish Hatchery on Friday when an electrical circuit breaker tripped and a warning system to alert hatchery workers failed.

The salmon were a few weeks old and scheduled to be released next spring and return as adults in 2020.

The hatchery on the Clearwater River is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service but operated by the Nez Perce Tribe.

The tribe says it’s working with other nearby hatcheries to replace the lost fish.

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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com