The following is a news release from the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game.

RIGGINS – During a routine facility check on Nov. 18, Rapid River Fish Hatchery staff detected a pump used to supply oxygenated water to the early rearing/incubation building had malfunctioned. The alarm system designed to identify water flow associated with pump failure also failed.

Staff were able to turn on a secondary pump as soon as the situation was discovered, but the temporary interruption of flow resulted in the loss of roughly 1.2 million newly hatched Chinook – about one-third of the hatchery’s annual production.

The cause of the pump and alarm failure is being investigated, and staff are taking around-the-clock shifts to monitor the pump until the cause of the pump and alarm failure has been determined, a

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