Posted Friday, February 4, 2005

Fisheries Experiment Station: not your typical fish hatchery

Editor's Note: This is the tenth in a series of articles about Utah's state fish hatcheries.
— Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11

LOGAN — The Fisheries Experiment Station does more than raise fish. In addition to raising rainbow trout for anglers at Strawberry Reservoir, the station's staff also conducts research that helps fish across Utah and works hard to help endangered June suckers in Utah Lake.

Operated by the Division of Wildlife Resources, the 12.23-acre site at 1465 W. 200 N. in Logan traces its roots to 1928, when the first 2.5 acres of land for the hatchery were purchased.

Research work

The Fisheries Experiment Station (FES) has been actively involved in fisheries research since 1986, although informal research has been conducted at the station since the early 1960s.

Since 1986, providing better fishing by learning how to increase the survival of fish — primarily trout — has been the main focus of the station's research. Research has focused in several areas, including: whirling disease; production of sterile fish for stocking in waters with native cutthroat trout; reduction of fin erosion of hatchery fish; refinement of hatchery-rearing techniques and evaluation of new technologies to raise fish; tolerance of trout to extremes in water quality; and bioenergetics (a branch of biology that deals with energy relations in or energy changes produced by living organisms).

Recent research also has focused on designing and testing filtration techniques to reduce or eliminate whirling disease from hatchery water supplies. Two DWR hatcheries are currently closed due to contaminated water supplies, although ongoing filtration tests may eventually lead to their reopening.

The development of culturing techniques for several native fish species also is an area of ongoing research. For example, several populations of least chub are being developed at the station. The least chub have been evaluated for their ability to control mosquito larvae numbers compared to nonnative mosquito fish. Tests are underway to determine the feed the chubs prefer and the water temperature they need for optimal growth.

June suckers

In 1991, a new facility was built at the station to hold June sucker, an endangered species found only in Utah Lake and its tributaries.

Increased demands for the FES to continue raising June sucker led to the construction of an additional 40x70-foot facility in 2001. In 2003, more than 8,000 cubic feet of new raceways were built. The raceways are of the newest aquaculture technology, using oxygen injection and baffles. These new raceways will allow the station to significantly increase its June sucker production.

In 2005, a 42x120-foot recirculation facility will be built that will allow the water temperature for June suckers to be increased to the mid-70° F. range. This should help improve growth rates and the overall health of the fish.

The goal of the station's June sucker program is to annually produce 33,000 fish, 8 inches in length, for stocking into Utah Lake.

June suckers are a difficult fish to raise and research is underway to determine the diet they need to help improve growth rates, reduce crippling and hopefully improve the overall health of the fish. Staff at the station also are evaluating the use of hormones to induce spawn on the June sucker. June sucker will not spawn in captivity without the aid of hormones.

Fish production

The FES's fish culture section raises fish for the station's research program, for stocking in lakes and streams, and for the development of brood stock, such as the Kamloops rainbow trout. Brook trout and several strains of native cutthroat, such as the Bear Lake, Bonneville and Colorado strains, also are raised at the station. The FES also raises sterile rainbow trout for Strawberry Reservoir and other waters.

In 2005, the estimated trout production is 56,700 pounds of two- to 12-inch fish.

Other services

In addition to the work mentioned, the station's staff also provides several other services:

— An inspection service ensures state hatcheries and wild broodstock sources are specific pathogen free and meet the requirements of Utah's Fish Health Policy Board for the legal transport of fish/fish eggs within the state.

— The fish disease diagnostic service identifies specific fish disease problems in state hatcheries, institutional aquaculture and wild fish, and provides help in the management and treatment of these problems.

— Ongoing surveys help track the presence of the whirling disease parasite and other pathogens across Utah and help document their effect on wild fish.

For more information about the FES, contact the station at (435) 752-1066 or visit their Web site at http://udwrfes.org.