Allegheny National Fish Hatchery Back in Business, Raising Lake Trout for Lower Great Lakes Fisheries

For the first time since 2005, the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery is back in the business of raising lake trout to restore recreational fisheries in the lower Great Lakes, according to Larry Miller, hatchery manager.

In November, five-year-old juvenile lake trout from another Service-run hatchery in western Massachusetts were the first released into the raceways at Allegheny National Fish Hatchery. These 2,200 fish will mature this fall and will produce eggs for future generations of lake trout raised at the hatchery.

In December, the hatchery received a total of one million lake trout eggs from the State of Vermont’s Salisbury Fish Hatchery, the Sullivan Creek National Fish Hatchery in Michigan, and the Iron River National Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin. The eggs have hatched and the trout fry will be moved to outdoor raceways in spring. These fish will grow for 18 months and the trout "yearlings" will be stocked into lakes Erie and Ontario in May 2013.

All fish were destroyed at the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in 2005 when lake and brook trout in the hatchery tested positive for infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN). IPN is a highly contagious and incurable fish virus that can affect trout and salmon species, in some cases causing up to 90 percent mortality in young fish.

The hatchery was thoroughly decontaminated following the discovery of IPN. Tests were done before any fish were released on site in November, and the hatchery is virus-free, according to Miller.

In the process of decontaminating the facility, significant infrastructure problems were discovered that prevented the resumption of fish production at the hatchery. In 2009, the Service received $1.13 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to complete necessary repairs. With additional funds from the Service’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and hatchery maintenance accounts, the Service in March 2010 awarded a $1.7 million general construction contract to William T. Spaeder Co., Inc., to carry out the project.

Spaeder is a small family-owned local company located in Erie, Penn., established in 1919 by World War I Navy veteran William "Bill" Spaeder. Today, ten of Spaeder’s grandchildren work for the company, including company president Terry M. Spaeder. The project supported about 25 jobs, including subcontractors.

Spaeder constructed a new degasification system, a structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.

Learn more about structure to house associated equipment, and installed a well-water treatment system. The ground water from the hatchery’s four wells is supersaturated with nitrogen and must go through an aeration and degassing process to make it non-toxic for fish. The water is then injected with oxygen from a new oxygen generation system to enhance water quality.

Allegheny National Fish Hatchery will raise young lake trout to support recreational fisheries in lakes Ontario and Erie as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The initiative is a partnership of 16 state, provincial and federal agencies working together to address the most significant environmental problems in the Great Lakes.

National fish hatcheries collectively contribute $900 million in industrial output and $550 million in retail sales in the U.S., according to Net Worth: The Economic Value of Fisheries Conservation report published by the Service in 2011.

From 1974 until 2005, the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in Warren, Pennsylvania, produced as many as 1.3 million lake trout annually to help restore the populations in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

Quotes:

U.S. Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-5^th): "As a longtime supporter of the great research and species restoration performed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, I am pleased that the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery will be reopening. This facility directly benefits Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the region, and will once again be an asset to our fisheries and the ecological health of Northwestern Pennsylvania. In addition to the many other research facilities managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including the Lamar Fish Hatchery in Centre County, I fully appreciate and support the Allegheny Fish Hatchery and the excellent work they do."

U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (PA-3^rd): "This is obviously a win for northwest Pennsylvania anglers, the businesses that rely on recreational fishing, and the Great Lakes ecosystem, which will be closer to maintaining healthy populations of one of its largest native species, the lake trout. I commend the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery and the Spaeder family for helping to keep jobs in northwestern Pennsylvania and big fish on anglers’ lines."

Kathy Moser, Assistant Commissioner for Natural Resources, New York: "As a long time partner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in efforts to restore vibrant lake trout populations to lakes Erie and Ontario, DEC is very pleased with the announcement that Allegheny National Fish Hatchery has been thoroughly renovated and has resumed production of lake trout."

Michael Hanson, vice-chair, Great Lakes Fishery Commission: "Re-opening of the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery is great news for the Great Lakes. State, federal, and tribal agencies engaged in native species restoration in the Great Lakes basin depend on this hatchery to produce healthy fish that will build populations in the wild, and hopefully, lead to self-sustaining populations that support valuable fisheries."