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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... ENVIRONMENT Nearly 400 steelhead die in Applegate fish-trap failure Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 10, 2015 at 3:02 PM Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 4:59 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 10, 2015 at 3:02 PM Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 4:59 PM » Social News APPLEGATE — A breakdown of a fish-loading facility at the base of Applegate Dam killed almost 400 Applegate River adult winter steelhead that were bound for Cole Rivers Hatchery. The 380 fish killed in Tuesday's incident marked the second fish-killing breakdown at the loading facility in three years and the worst of four such failures there dating back to 2002, records show. The failure has led to some procedural changes, as well. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife suggests that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the trap, fund some mechanical modifications to reduce the chances of future fish kills there. "I don't think it necessarily needs a rebuild, but hopefully some improvements," hatchery Manager David Pease said. Corps officials said Friday they will look into the trap facilities that were built when Applegate Dam went online in 1980. "We need to do some major troubleshooting there and get to the root of the issue," said Jim Buck, the Corps' Rogue Basin operations manager. The Tuesday breakdown came as ODFW technicians were in the process of transferring almost 1,100 steelhead captured at the trap in the past week into trucks to haul them to the hatchery, which is on the upper Rogue River beneath Lost Creek Dam. In each case, the breakdown occurred in the elevator-like apparatus — called a brail — used to transfer fish from the in-water trap to a tanker truck for transportation. In Tuesday's incident, technicians already loaded about 700 pounds of steelhead into one truck and were about to load a second group of what a technician thought was about 1,000 pounds of steelhead, Pease said. When the brail had almost reached the top, the hoist cable snapped, causing the brail to fall back into the elevator. Technicians attempted to drain the tower so an access door could open and the steelhead could swim back into the collection pond, Pease said, but the drain pipe was somehow obstructed, causing it to take about 90 minutes to drain and suffocating the steelhead. At an average of 5 pounds per fish, the dead steelhead weighed about 1,900 pounds, which was about 20 percent over the cable's working load limit, according to an ODFW fish-loss report. However, the report concludes that alone should not have caused the cable to fail. The cable was replaced, and the brail resumed operation Wednesday, hauling about 2,400 pounds of fish in a single lift, the report states. Of the 382 dead fish, nine were wild fish that would have gone toward brood stock, Pease said. Of the excess hatchery fish, the males would have been killed and the females would have had their eggs stripped before they were returned to the Applegate, Pease said. The egg-stripping is done to ensure the released females don't stray onto wild steelhead spawning grounds. The dead fish, however, have since been transferred to Hilton Fuel, where they will be turned into mulch, Pease said. Pease said technicians will take smaller loads of fish in future uses of the brail and add a heavier cable. He also would like to install an electronic "load-limiter" to shut the brail down automatically based on weight and engineer modifications to the tower that would protect the fish better in transfer, as well as allow for faster emergency draining, the report states. Almost exactly three years ago, 294 adult steelhead suffocated and died when the brail froze in the midst of a transfer. On April 24, 2002, the same system seized within the elevator tower, trapping 124 hatchery winter steelhead that eventually suffocated and died. Less than a week later, the motor operating the system failed and killed another 102 steelhead. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 10, 2015 at 3:02 PM Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 4:59 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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