Oregon Man Charged with Environmental Crime for Pouring Bleach into Salmon Hatchery Tank

An individual named Joshua Heckathorn, aged 20, has been accused and charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, and criminal mischief in Oregon after allegedly pouring bleach into a hatchery tank filled with young salmon. The incident occurred at the Gardiner Reedsport Winchester Bay Salmon Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) on April 22nd, resulting in approximately 15,000-20,000 smolt chinook salmon meeting a grim demise as they breathed their final breaths due to the deadly chemical substance. The following day, law enforcement officials spotted Heckathorn walking along Highway South and subsequently found him behind locked gates with no trespassing signs at the hatchery where he admitted his wrongdoings involving the bottle containing the lethal compound. Sheriff John Hanlin expressed pride in the investigation’s outcome as a result of collaboration between authorities, highlighting that criminal actions come with an economic toll on local economies since these young fish would have returned to their natural habitat three or four years later and generated revenue for anglers fishing at Winchester Bay and Umpqua River. The hatchery president Deborah Yates described the incident as a heinous act, stating that she had never witnessed anything like it in nature before where humans can perpetrate such brutal actions against aquatic lifeforms.