Star-Crossed Salmon Survive Oroville Spillway Erosion But Suffocate

SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) -- Officials say a quarter-million hatchery salmon survived the near-collapse of the Oroville Dam spillway this winter, only to suffocate now after a pump failed.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Andrew Hughan said Thursday that they were among about 5 million baby fall-run Chinook salmon that were rescued after tons of mud washed down the Feather River in February.

The erosion came from the failing emergency spillway near the Oroville Dam that caused the precautionary evacuation of nearly 200,000 Northern California residents.

The salmon were trucked from the Oroville hatchery to a nearby hatchery annex fed by well water. They died Wednesday when a faulty pump left the fish without enough oxygen.

The fall-run salmon are not an endangered species. About 30 million are released each year in California.

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