FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said an estimated 51,000 rainbow trout being raised at the Chattahoochee National Forest Fish Hatchery in North Georgia were killed when the main water supply was cut off.
Fannin County Sheriff Dane Kirby said employees noticed the valve had been turned off Monday and that the fish died.
“Sometime between 2:30 and 6:30, somebody cut off our main water supply to the hatchery,” Kelly Taylor, the hatchery’s project manager, said Wednesday. “It’s nothing I’ve ever worried about.”
Taylor discovered the dead fish after arriving for work.
"I've been here 19 years. No one has ever messed with that thing," Taylor said.
For several hours, the water flow was reduced, taking a deadly toll.
TRENDING STORIES:
"I think it's rotten. I think it's terrible," angler Gary Brogen said.
Brogen voiced the feelings of many anglers on the mass killing of fish at the hatchery.
Taylor said he has no idea who would close the gate, but he does not think it was a deliberate act by someone opposed to fish hatcheries.
"My own opinion. It was just a bunch of kids out looking for mischief or curiosity of what it did," Taylor said.
He said they will improve security around the water gate, and although the kill is not expected to have a major impact on the upcoming trout fishing season, many are still upset.
"Whoever caused this should be hung up. Prosecuted," Brogen said.
The sheriff's office is now investigating. Those responsible could face both local and federal charges.
The killings cost the hatchery around $61,000.
Information from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was used in this report.
Cox Media Group
