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#998912 - 12/17/18 04:59 PM 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek
bushbear Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 08/26/02
Posts: 4709
Loc: Sequim
WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

December 17, 2018
Contact: Eric Kinne, 360-902-2418

Chinook fry lost after power outage at Minter Creek Hatchery

OLYMPIA – As many as 6.2 million chinook salmon fry died last weekend when a windstorm cut power to the Minter Creek Hatchery in Pierce County and the facility's backup generator failed.

The fry were in incubators at the Minter Creek Hatchery operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The pump that supplies water to those incubators stopped working when both the main power and backup generator failed.

WDFW staff tried to start the generator and attempted to provide water to the incubators using other methods, but those efforts were largely unsuccessful, said Eric Kinne, WDFW hatchery division manager.

"This is a devastating loss," Kinne said. "The department is conducting an analysis to determine the root cause of what went wrong so that we can improve procedures at Minter Creek and our other hatcheries to help ensure this doesn't happen again."

An inventory of the fish lost includes:

4.2 million Deschutes fall chinook fry
1.5 million Minter Creek fall chinook fry
507,000 White River spring chinook fry

Kinne said the department was raising the White River spring chinook as part of the state's early efforts to provide more food for southern resident orcas, which are listed as endangered both federally and in Washington. The Deschutes and Minter Creek fall chinook were part of WDFW's ongoing hatchery operations that support state fisheries, not new production for orcas.

Other fish – including roughly 4.2 million chum salmon and 2 million coho salmon – being held at Minter Creek Hatchery survived the power outage.

WDFW is determining whether fish from other facilities can replace some of the fry lost at Minter Creek Hatchery, which is located in Gig Harbor. The chinook were scheduled for release in May or June 2019. Chinook typically return to their natal streams to spawn after three to five years in marine waters.

The department operates 80 hatcheries across Washington and raises approximately 68 million chinook annually.

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#998913 - 12/17/18 05:27 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
cobble cruiser Offline
~B-F-D~

Registered: 03/27/09
Posts: 2256
The cost of 6.2 million salmon fry resting on the odds of the generator starting... hmm. Way to go WDFW.... if that is really what happened of course.
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#998921 - 12/17/18 06:59 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Carcassman Online   content
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 7413
Loc: Olema,California,Planet Earth
Every hatchery has (is supposed to have) a backup emergency generator for when the power goes out. Hatcheries are located in generally remote places where the power does go out. Unless, of course, you have gravity-fed water which is pretty rare.

SOP requires that they test the generators on, I think, at least a monthly basis.

This loss of power is a risk that is supposed to be planned for.

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#998923 - 12/17/18 07:21 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Lifter99 Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 12/01/18
Posts: 386
Another snafu by our "wonderful" WDFW.

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#998934 - 12/17/18 07:45 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Chasin' Baitman Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 08/15/12
Posts: 253
Would anyone be able to venture an educated guess as to what the avg cost to raise a hatchery Chinook is?

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#998937 - 12/17/18 07:54 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Sky-Guy Offline
The Tide changed

Registered: 08/31/00
Posts: 7232
Loc: Everett
This is totally unacceptable. I mean for god's sake, there is a Home depot on Swede hill outside of Gig harbor that's less than 10 minutes away, go buy another friggen Generator!

The ineptness, while astounding, is not unexpected.
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You know something bad is going to happen when you hear..."Hey, hold my beer and watch this"

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#998938 - 12/17/18 07:56 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
NickD90 Offline
Shooting Instructor for hire

Registered: 10/26/10
Posts: 7260
Loc: Snohomish, WA
Perfect. I look forward to paying my fair share in the next round license increases. I'm doing my part. Are you?

Preventative maintenance and disaster recovery are some of the first line items to go in any struggling org's budget. Why? "Because who needs to pay for it when we are never going to have an issue!". Upper management 101.

Ten dollars says the generator didn't even have any diesel in it and was last cranked over in 93'.
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“If the military were fighting for our freedom, they would be storming Capitol Hill”. – FleaFlickr02

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#998943 - 12/17/18 08:58 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: Sky-Guy]
fishbadger Offline
Repeat Spawner

Registered: 03/06/01
Posts: 1194
Loc: Gig Harbor, WA
Originally Posted By: Sky-Guy
This is totally unacceptable. I mean for god's sake, there is a Home depot on Swede hill outside of Gig harbor that's less than 10 minutes away, go buy another friggen Generator!

The ineptness, while astounding, is not unexpected.


Seriously. . .I live 10 minutes away, and if I knew this was happening I would have taken MY generator over there. . .in such a rush it would have taken me only 8 minutes to have it there and up and running.

This absolutely sucks, those fish are my plan A and B.

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#998944 - 12/17/18 09:14 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Larry B Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 10/22/09
Posts: 3020
Loc: University Place and Whidbey I...
Tough loss and I am sure there will be more to come but I am a little confused about those White River Chinook.

I thought WDFW has been rearing those fish for years as part of the recovery effort for that run. That program was to switch to the Puyallup hatchery upon completion of renovations announced earlier this year. But wait, that announcement said that the hatchery would produce fish to improve tribal, recreational and NT commercial fishing in Puget Sound and up and down the coast.

Were they talking about the same fish now described as being raised for Orcas?

I wish there was a "head scratching" emoji.
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Remember to immediately record your catch or you may become the catch!

It's the person who has done nothing who is sure nothing can be done. (Ewing)

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#998946 - 12/17/18 09:35 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: Larry B]
Steelheadman Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/15/99
Posts: 4214
Loc: Poulsbo, WA,USA
Article from Aug 2017, Minter Creek Hatchery

"The Minter Creek Hatchery is a 24/7 operation. Bissonnette or one of her colleagues is always on call in case of emergencies. In the winter, when the incubators are in full operation, a power outage with loss of continuous water flow and oxygen supply could decimate the eggs. The response time is just 15 minutes. The holding tanks are less sensitive, but the response time during the spring and fall is still less than an hour."
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#998947 - 12/17/18 09:51 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Carcassman Online   content
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 7413
Loc: Olema,California,Planet Earth
The hatchery generators I have seen are not "stick in your pickup and haul". They are rather large as the electrical needs at a hatchery are/were huge. Those are not tiny pumps, the freezers for food, and all the rest take a lot of power.

Does not excuse having a backup generator that is regularly tested and ready to go. With the advancements in weather forecasting they should have known this was at least a possibility and been well prepared (fire up the g'rator as a test).

To my knowledge, the WR fished raised at Minter were to support recovery. With the opening of the Tribal facility on the White it became less necessary. An interesting aspect is that, at least in the 2000-2010 range, yearlings from Minter survived at about the same rate a fingerlings from the Tribal hatchery. Something in the marine waters was killing them.

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#998950 - 12/17/18 11:21 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: Carcassman]
Larry B Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 10/22/09
Posts: 3020
Loc: University Place and Whidbey I...
Something???

They don't have that problem in Norway as evidenced by the seal hides for sale at the fish market in Bergen.
_________________________
Remember to immediately record your catch or you may become the catch!

It's the person who has done nothing who is sure nothing can be done. (Ewing)

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#998951 - 12/17/18 11:34 PM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: Carcassman]
Sky-Guy Offline
The Tide changed

Registered: 08/31/00
Posts: 7232
Loc: Everett
Originally Posted By: Carcassman
The hatchery generators I have seen are not "stick in your pickup and haul". They are rather large as the electrical needs at a hatchery are/were huge. Those are not tiny pumps, the freezers for food, and all the rest take a lot of power.

Does not excuse having a backup generator that is regularly tested and ready to go. With the advancements in weather forecasting they should have known this was at least a possibility and been well prepared (fire up the g'rator as a test).

To my knowledge, the WR fished raised at Minter were to support recovery. With the opening of the Tribal facility on the White it became less necessary. An interesting aspect is that, at least in the 2000-2010 range, yearlings from Minter survived at about the same rate a fingerlings from the Tribal hatchery. Something in the marine waters was killing them.



I understand they had large gen sets to run the whole hatchery operation. But in an emergency I'm sure a 5 or 6kw could keep the pumps running and the fish alive until power could be restored.
_________________________
You know something bad is going to happen when you hear..."Hey, hold my beer and watch this"

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#998953 - 12/18/18 04:28 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Chum Man Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/07/99
Posts: 2691
Loc: Yelmish
well, there goes the budd inlet fishery in a couple years.

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#998954 - 12/18/18 06:43 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
BW Offline
Spawner

Registered: 04/04/00
Posts: 763
Loc: LAKEWOOD,WA,USA
Hatchery had an emergency generator but it failed also. They tried pumping water using a fire hose into the tanks but could not keep up. They did the best they could guys.


Edited by BW (12/18/18 07:11 AM)
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#998955 - 12/18/18 06:48 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Carcassman Online   content
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 7413
Loc: Olema,California,Planet Earth
Knowing many of the folks who work in hatcheries, they did the best they could with the tools provided. Things may have changed since I left but those folks are (were) direct lineal descendants of the Seabees.


Edited by Carcassman (12/18/18 06:48 AM)

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#998956 - 12/18/18 06:54 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Carcassman Online   content
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 7413
Loc: Olema,California,Planet Earth
The survival problem for Chinook was that the fingerlings didn't make it at all. The yearlings, as with all yearling smolts that leave deep SS, got hammered. Maybe seals. But, how does the burgeoning seal population explain that the deep SS Searuns are doing just fine, and they are there all year (as are the seals)? Maybe it is particular seals in Tacoma Narrows. Maybe it's an expanding Lincod population in the Narrows. It was expanding when this first began. Maybe it's the expanding harbor Porpoise. I dunno, but we have to look at what is working and why to understand what isn't.

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#998958 - 12/18/18 07:38 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
TanTastic84 Offline
Juvenile at Sea

Registered: 10/21/11
Posts: 182
Loc: Seattle, WA
I am not one to complain and I understand the WDFW has a thankless job on their hands, but this is quite ridiculous!

To me, this smells like a way for the folks at the hatcheries to grab a chunk of that check that hasn't been written to upgrade their facilities. As I have gotten older, I find it harder and harder to believe in coincidence.

All I can say about this situation is, it is embarrassing for WDFW. Especially given the current news headlines. This could have been prevented with simple safety steps (which are likely already supposed to be part of their standard processes) should have been taken to make sure all equipment was in working order.

"Take care of your gear, your gear'll take care of you."

6.2 million fish lost. Shame on the Minter Creek facility. An absolute embarrassment.


Edited by TanTastic84 (12/18/18 07:50 AM)

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#998959 - 12/18/18 07:43 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
Carcassman Online   content
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 7413
Loc: Olema,California,Planet Earth
As has been noted before (often) maintenance is regularly deferred/postponed due "lack of funds". Whether one agrees with WDFW's priorities (often as mandated by the Leg, Courts, etc) they simply don't have the money to do it all.

This situation was, I believe, preventable but the cost would have been some other work, somewhere, on some other resource.

I would hope that the investigation is complete and made public with the public being given the opportunity to ask for and receive answers. But, since these are the folks that brought us NOF.........

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#998960 - 12/18/18 07:55 AM Re: 6.2 million Chinook lost at Minter Creek [Re: bushbear]
TanTastic84 Offline
Juvenile at Sea

Registered: 10/21/11
Posts: 182
Loc: Seattle, WA
Carcassman, I agree to a point. I understand about "lack of funds". But, simple safety checks of equipment is a non cost.

If you're in a rush, you're still putting on your seat belt.

If you're facing a photo finish at the urinal, you're still pulling your fly down.

See what I mean? We all hate maintenance times but we all do it so our stuff works when we need it to. If the folk at Minter would have taken their safety steps and checked this essential equipment a month ago, I assure you this critical piece of equipment would have been repaired or replaced.

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