FRANKLIN -- About 200 salmon that were being taken to the Pemigewasset River for stocking late last month died as a result of bleach in the transport tanks, Fish and Game officials said.

The fish were older salmon that had been used for breeding at fish hatcheries as part of the Atlantic Salmon Brood Stock Fishery project, said Matthew Carpenter, a fisheries biologist with fish and game.

The fish were to be dropped in the river just below the Franklin Falls after being transported to from other hatcheries, but along the way, about 200 of them died from bleach residue in the portable fish tanks, he said.

The residue should have been entirely cleaned from the tank but was not, Carpenter said.

The dead fish, which were safe to eat, were given to Franklin food pantries, he said.