77,000 Salmon Accidentally Released Into Creek After Fish Tanker Truck Overturns

When a fish tanker truck carrying more than 102,000 live salmon overturned on a sharp corner in northeast Oregon recently, a majority of the smolts — about 77,000 — made it into the adjacent Lookingglass Creek, according to reports. The truck had been transporting the fish from a hatchery for release in the Imnaha River, but rolled onto its side along the curve, went over a rocky embankment and then rolled onto its roof.

The driver escaped the crash with minor injuries, NBC News reported April 4. The carcasses of the remaining 25,529 smolts were recovered in the tanker or on the streambank, according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Police and wildlife officials responded to the scene, where small amounts of diesel fuel were found but “quickly contained” and did not require a hazardous spill response.

“I love that most of the salmon lived,” said Gina Jones , Vice President, Director, Environmental Programs, Burns & Wilcox , Denver, Colorado. “Over 25,000 did not, though, which is quite a mess. In the Environmental Insurance world, anything in excess and anything out of its natural environment is a pollutant.”

The cost of cleanup and property damage from the spill would typically need to be covered. This coverage can take different forms, either as a site environmental policy for a client with transported cargo extension, or as a contractors policy (not anchored in site coverage, and with transportation coverage), said Karim Jaroudi , Manager, Environmental, Burns & Wilcox, Toronto, Ontario. Although the pollutant seems natural to the environment, that cannot be assumed, he said.

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