02-24-2004, 02:48 AM
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]PORT ANGELES, WA—A water pump malfunction at a Washington fish hatchery recently killed an estimated 600,000 young coho salmon. [/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]The pump reportedly overheated and prevented water from circulating. The salmon were in the alevin stage, meaning they had freshly emerged from their eggs, making them especially vulnerable.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]Officials say the hatchery's failure-alarm system didn't catch the problem, because it's designed to detect power outages, not pump failures. The hatchery is looking into a new warning system to prevent similar incidents. [/size][/#000000][/font]
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]The pump reportedly overheated and prevented water from circulating. The salmon were in the alevin stage, meaning they had freshly emerged from their eggs, making them especially vulnerable.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]Officials say the hatchery's failure-alarm system didn't catch the problem, because it's designed to detect power outages, not pump failures. The hatchery is looking into a new warning system to prevent similar incidents. [/size][/#000000][/font]
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