For Immediate Release March 22, 2005
Gearing up for Fishing Season
April Fool's day in Maine is often the cruelest on Fisherman. While the
law
book may say it is time for open water fishing, one look at lakes and
ponds
in the area will tell you that we are still weeks away from open water
season.
Right now, conditions outside are better suited for ice fishing, but
April
showers combine with warmer weather will open up plenty of
opportunities for
fisherman.
Still, come April 1, there will be some open water to fish, and
starting in
mid-April, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife personnel will
be
stocking fish throughout much of the state.
The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is in the midst of its
first
modern hatchery makeover. Improvements are complete or near complete on
many
of our nine fish raising facilities. When complete, they
This report is designed to familiarize you with our stocking program,
inform
you on our hatchery improvements, and also let you know why we stock
fish.
Best of luck this season!
Stocking Season Begins
Right now, trout and salmon hatcheries around the state are gearing up
for
the spring stocking season. Over 500,000 trout and salmon ranging in
size
from 8-12 inches will be placed in the waterways around the state. The
first
fish of the season will be stocked starting in April. An ambitious
stocking
program this past fall means hundreds of thousands of trout and salmon
are
already in waterways around the state.
Trucks from the Dry Mills Hatchery generally are the first to start
stocking, usually in southern York County. Currently there are plans
for
stocking waterways in York, Oxford and Cumberland County throughout
April.
By the time spring stocking has concluded, trout and salmon will have
been
placed in over 700 ponds, lakes streams and rivers around the state.
"April starts the busy time for the hatcheries. Once open water
season starts, the trucks start moving. We start stocking in the
southern
part of the state, and as waters start to open up, we start to move
north,"
said Steve Wilson, Superintendent of Fish Hatcheries for the Department
of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Most of the fish stocked early in the season are brought by truck to
their destination, then either sluiced into the waterway, or on larger
bodies of water, loaded into tanks and brought by boat to deeper water
where
they are released. Later in the season, fish will be stocked by plane,
and
even backpacked into remote ponds. Last year, 747 waterways were
stocked
with over one million fish from state hatcheries.
A complete list of waters that we stocked this past year is
available at the Information Center at the Department of Inland
Fisheries
and Wildlife at 284 State Street in Augusta, or on the department web
site
at www.mefishwildlife.com . It is also available at our regional offices
throughout the state. This report lets anglers know what body of water
fish
were stocked, how many fish were stocked, how big they were and when
they
were stocked.
New Hatchery Improvements mean more fish
In November of 2002, voters approved a bond package that included $7
million
to improve the state's aging hatchery system. Currently, the department
is
finishing the final stages of improvements to the state's hatchery
systems.
The upgrades have allowed us to modernize our hatchery facilities as
well as
increase our production and the quality of fish that we produce.
"With these improvements, we will be stocking larger fish throughout
much of
the state," said Wilson, "We will be able to increase our production,
and
raise healthier, larger trout. This will mean more opportunities for
anglers."
The showpiece of the improvements will be the Embden Facility. The old
raceways have been torn out, and their place stands a 100x280 foot
building
that houses thirty stainless steel circular tanks that are 20' in
diameter.
The tanks are in place, and by this fall, we will be raising fish in
Embden
once again.
The tanks are in three lines of ten, and fish culturists at the Embden
hatchery will be able to adjust the water temperature for ten tanks at
a
time by controlling the inflow water from two locations on Embden Pond.
By
being able to adjust the temperature of the water in the tanks,
culturists
can ensure optimum growing temperatures for a variety of fish. Once
online
this fall, the Embden facility will be raising primarily brook trout,
but
also landlocked salmon, brown trout and possibly rainbow trout.
This new facility, while not the largest in the northeast, will
certainly by
one of the most efficient. The gravity feed water system will keep
costs
down, the high quality water from Embden aids in producing quality
disease
free fish, and environmentally, water leaving the facility will be much
higher quality than in the past.
Work is completed installing oxygen enhancement systems in Casco,
Enfield,
Governor Hill and Palermo. By infusing oxygen into the water before it
goes
to the fish tanks and raceways, we are able to grow more fish in the
same
amount of space. We can also grow them faster with less risk of
disease.
We have also improved the wastewater treatment facilities at the
Embden,
Enfield, Palermo and Casco hatcheries. The water that comes out of our
hatcheries has to be as clean or cleaner than the body of water that it
is
flowing into. If we raise more fish in these hatcheries, there will be
more
natural waste produced by the fish. At these hatcheries, a filter
system
will treat water before it is discharged from the hatcheries, improving
the
water quality of the discharge water. Construction on these filter
systems
should be finalized on these systems by the summer.
"These improvements will mean bigger fish, and cleaner water," said
Wilson.
Tank farms are more efficient than the raceway systems, allowing us to
raise
more and bigger fish. They are also easier to maintain and clean,
resulting
in increased efficiency.
Finally, money from an Outdoor Heritage Fund grant is leading to
improvements at the New Gloucester Hatchery. Currently, small fish or
fry,
as they are called, are moved from circular tanks to the outdoor dirt
and
gravel raceways. The change in habitat for these fish is less than
ideal, so
the grant will fund the construction of circular tanks at the hatchery,
similar to what is at Embden. This will provide a better growing
habitat for
the fry before they are placed in the raceway. Already, work has been
completed in preparing a site for tanks similar in size to Embden.
Fishing in Maine has an economic impact of nearly $300 million
annually, and
over 375,000 people fish in Maine each year. It generates nearly $20
million
in tax revenue as well as supporting over 5,000 jobs. These figures
were
generated by a 1998 University of Maine economic impact study. The
legislature authorized the bond issue in response to a legislative
commission that evaluated the department's fish raising facilities.
Noting
the economic impact of fishing, the commission then developed a plan to
increase the state's production of fish.
"With the completion of these improvements, our production capacity
will
greatly increase, allowing us to stock larger, and more fish," said
Wilson.
Estimates are that production will increase from 250,000 pounds of fish
annually, to 500,000 pounds of fish annually. Last year, the department
stocked 1,187,258 fish that weighed a total of 319,154 pounds. Compare
that
to 1977 when we stocked 1,380,808 fish that weighed a total 129,579
pounds.
In that time period, we have doubled the size of the fish we now stock.
-Mark Latti, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Why Do We Stock
We receive lots of questions regarding fish stocking in Maine. Why do
we
stock? Why don't we stock more? What species do we stock and why?
Why do
we stock varying sizes and ages of fish? In the next few paragraphs I
will
attempt to answer some of these questions.
Maine stocks about one and one quarter million fish each year. Most
of these fish are six inches or larger when released into the wild. All
of
the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife's fish culture or
hatchery program consists of growing various species of trout and
landlocked
salmon. At the current time we are raising brook trout, brown trout,
lake
trout (togue), landlocked salmon, splake (a brook trout/lake trout
hybrid)
and rainbow trout (an experimental program).
We stock fish to provide fishing opportunities for anglers that
would not otherwise be available. Each of the state's nearly 6000
lakes and
ponds and almost 32,000 miles of rivers and streams present some type
of
angling opportunity as well as management challenges.
Historically, fish stocking 50 to 100 years ago was done with little
knowledge of the habitat requirements for a given species or the
dynamics of
a particular ecosystem. In the early 1950's fishery managers began to
study
these ecosystems to gain an understanding of how they operated in order
to
make informed decisions for future management of these waters. As more
information was gathered, management recommendations resulted in a
variety
of stocking changes. In many situations the species to be stocked was
changed. Perhaps many didn't realize that at one time Maine stocked
four
species of Pacific salmon. In other instances changes were made in the
size
of fish stocked. Years ago millions of tiny fry were planted in waters
with
large populations of predatory fish, resulting in few returns to the
angler.
In addition, many stockings especially in brooks and streams were
stopped
completely as there were adequate populations of wild trout.
IFW's fish stocking programs actually fall into four categories:
introductory stocking, maintenance stocking, experimental stocking and
put
and take stocking. Introductory, maintenance and experimental
stockings
would all fall into the category of "biological" stocking programs. In
each
of these the habitat, water quality and available forage would be
assessed
and considered to be suitable to allow a stocked fish to survive and
grow to
legal size. Of these three types of programs the introductory one is
the
smallest. In this program we would consider all conditions to be
suitable
including sufficient spawning area for the species being stocked.
Generally, after a few years, stocking can be discontinued and the
fishery
will maintain itself through natural reproduction. In fact, in a few
of our
brook trout waters we have established self- sustaining populations
with a
single stocking.
The largest part of Maine's stocking is considered a maintenance
stocking program where routine, continuous stocking (on various time
tables)
may be made to supplement an insufficient amount of natural
reproduction or
substitute where there is a complete lack of natural reproduction. The
lack
of natural reproduction is generally a result of no suitable spawning
habitat. We often get the question: Do stocked fish spawn? Yes,
indeed
they would spawn very nicely assuming there was suitable habitat
conditions
for successful spawning. Since many of Maine's waters have great
habitat
for growth and survival of stocked fish, but lack spawning area, our
maintenance stocking program must continue.
The last of our three biological stocking programs is experimental.
Experimental stocking is used in special situations to help us predict
the
success of a new program where complex biological interactions exist.
Fish
may be stocked on an experimental basis, and once information is
gathered,
the program may be changed, continued or stopped, depending on the
results
of the stocking. Past and present examples of our experimental programs
include stocking of brown trout in tidal rivers such as the Mousam and
Ogunquit, while currently we are conducting an experimental stocking
with
rainbow trout in several waters in central and southern Maine.
Our one non-biological program is called "put and take" stocking and
consists of stocking legal-sized fish into waters where they are
expected to
be caught within a short time. These waters generally do not provide
the
right conditions to hold trout over the entire year (for example, the
water
may be too warm in the summer, or too low) or there may be very heavy
fishing, such as waters near larger urban areas.
This stocking provides a short-term fishery that must be maintained by
continuous stocking during periods when the habitat conditions are
suitable.
Most of this program is conducted in high population areas where other
opportunities for trout fishing may not exist, i.e. spring stocking of
some
of the brooks in York and Cumberland Counties. Since hatchery space is
limited, the stocking of large numbers of legal-sized fish is also
limited.
In a few years, as a result of the seven million dollar bond issue, we
will
be able to increase the number of "put and take" trout. In addition, a
program such as this would not be considered where there are adequate
numbers of wild fish.
All "biological" stocking programs are done with considerable
thought and information available to each regional fishery staff.
Many
years ago department fisheries biologists established a set of
guidelines
for stocking. These guidelines include recommendations on species to
be
stocked, size of fish at stocking and numbers to be stocked. Species,
size
and numbers are based on the available habitat for the species to be
stocked
and the amount of competition from other fish species and the available
forage (feed).
In order to give our biological stocking programs the best chance of
success, fish quality goals (size and condition of fish at a particular
age)
are established for all species and strains grown in our hatchery
system.
Department fish culturists strive to meet these goals in order to
provide
for better survival following stocking and greater returns to the
anglers.
They take great pride in the products they stock and are continually
finding
ways to improve them.
IFW has nine hatcheries and rearing stations. Hatcheries are just that,
where fish are hatched and also raised. A rearing station is where some
fish
are moved to after hatching. Each of these nine facilities represent
sites
which have proven to be conducive to the production of a certain
species of
coldwater fish. Some of them are fed by lake water, while others
receive
their water supplies from springs and underground wells.
Fish production schedules are planned several years in advance to
assure the
number and size of a particular species or strain are available to meet
the
needs of anglers. Exactly what species are produced by a particular
facility
are governed by the need for specific species, strain and size of the
fish,
the suitability of a facility for certain species and the geographic
need
for a specific species.
Another "special" program is the stocking of many of our larger,
"retired"
hatchery brood stock. These give anglers the opportunity to catch a
trophy
size fish. Brown trout measure out from 26-28 inches, togue are 26-28
inches, and the brook trout released are up to 22 inches in size. The
brood
stock are the fathers and mothers that produce the fingerlings, fry and
yearlings the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife stock
throughout
the year. The biological clock has stopped ticking for these fish, they
are
no longer active in their reproduction cycle, so they are released into
the
wild. Fish range in age from three to tweleve years. A list of stocked
fish
is available through our department or on our website.
And of course, you may wonder just how they do get into those 700
lakes,
rivers, streams and ponds? There isn't one process used for all them.
It
depends on the geographic location of the water body, and its
accessibility.
Some are stocked by running a hose from a hatchery truck to the water
and
some are moved to ponds by a bucket that is filled at the truck. We use
airplanes to bring fish to remote ponds where travel by truck is not
feasible, and in some areas, we backpack them in as fry in a specially
made
pack frame designed to carry very small fish. The stocking of many
waters
also includes the boating of fish to various sections of a water body
to
spread the fish out and reduce attacks on them by predators such as
larger
fish or birds.
Hopefully this has given you an overview of IFW's stocking programs. If
you
are looking for a list of what bodies of water we stock, give us a call
at
287-8000, or by check us out online at www.mefishwildlife.com
<http://www.mefishwildlife.com>.
Number and Weight of Fish Stocked From Maine State Hatcheries 1962 -
present
Year Number weight # of
of fish of fish hatcheries
1962 1,924,971 170,035 13
1963 2,083,029 134,283 14
1964 3,138,157 182,179 14
1965 1,956,826 137,096 13
1966 2,425,947 144,805 13
1967 1,645,432 121,534 12
1968 1,238,700 114,475 11
1969 1,524,751 117,306 10
1970 2,243,633 155,484 10
1971 1,916,796 158,022 10
1972 2,050,692 143,484 10
1973 2,585,498 136,130 10
1974 2,504,086 138,029 10
1975 2,096,118 154,197 10
1976 1,823,371 161,817 10
1977 1,380,808 129,579 10
1978 1,492,128 162,126 10
1979 1,273,549 136,399 10
1980 1,817,694 161,368 10
1981 1,491,953 139,086 9
1982 1,195,925 147,874 9
1983 982,556 158,261 9
1984 1,296,456 157,684 9
1985 1,392,473 160,156 9
1986 1,359,472 186,658 9
1987 1,843,412 224,214 9
1988 1,592,040 196,599 9
1989 l,611,601 217,677 9
1990 1,335,610 199,152 9
1991 1,557,292 207,519 9
1992 1,651,402 250,104 9
1993 1,407,635 205,179 9
1994 1,551,373 222,036 9
1995 1,086,615 241,925 9
1996 1,018,520 249,792 9
1997 1,203,974 243,107 9
1998 1,271,197 256,980 9
1999 1,252,176 255,657 9
2000 1,229,844 240,826 9
2001 1,204,722 261,100 9
2002 986, 532 273,397 9
2003 1,408,879 291,317 9
2004 1,187,258 319,154 9
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