Several live fish were accidentally ejected from a Colorado Parks and Wildlife truck transporting them earlier this week from Durango to the Front Range.
The driver was hauling rainbow and cutthroat trout hybrids, known as cutbows, from the Durango Fish Hatchery to Trinidad Reservoir, a CPW spokesperson said.
About 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, someone called the Durango Police Department to report fish falling from a vehicle onto the southbound lanes of Sawyer Drive and South Camino del Rio in the Bodo Industrial Park area, south of downtown Durango.
According to the spokesperson, the incident occurred after the driver made an abrupt stop. The sudden shift in water pressure caused a latch on one of the transport tanks to pop open, allowing some fish and water to spill out.
By the time police arrived, the driver had managed to return some of the fish to the tank, an officer said.
However, the CPW spokesperson said four fish fell onto the road and died after they could not be returned to the tank. Of the 2,264 fish in the truck, 2,260 arrived safely at the reservoir later that day.
Durango Fish Hatchery Manager Toby Mourning said, “This type of thing is very rare, and it is the first time in the 20 years I have been at Durango that I have heard of this.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
