Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • March-April 2006 www.fish.state.pa.us8

It may lack the majesty and mystery of the annual return ofswallows to the historic San Juan Capistrano mission, but comeeach March there’s another regular occurrence that for troutanglers is just as magnificent. It’s the sailing of the “Great WhiteFleet,” the annual out-migration of stocking trucks fromPennsylvania’s state fish hatcheries. Providing millions of troutand other fish species annually to be released into waters openfor public fishing, these hatcheries have long been celebratedfor what they produce. These days, however, they deserve asmuch credit for what’s not coming out in great quantity: Waste.

Pennsylvania state fish hatcheries are at their core each aspecialized farming operation. They are designed and man-aged to cultivate efficiently a living “crop.” The 14 stationsmanaged by the Fish & Boat Commission contain miles of pipe,pumps, electronics, and other equipment and facilities designedto raise fish. From the hatch houses where fish eggs incubate,to large outdoor rearing units known as raceways, to the mas-sive netting that helps reduce bird predation on young fish,the “production” side of hatchery operations is what most visi-tors understand.

There’s an equally important component to each state fishhatchery, however, a side that is overlooked by many—but notby the Commission. That’s the wastewater treatment side.Here’s where the “farm” operations of a hatchery take on ele-ments of an industrial/municipal facility.

As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollut-ant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit programregulates point-source discharges into waters of the United

States. These discharges include those from Pennsylvania’s statefish hatcheries. Each of the 14 hatchery facilities the Commis-sion manages operates under NPDES permit restrictions. Asa living organism, fish produce waste. Excrement, along withundigested fish feed and other suspended solids already in theinfluent water, must be treated before it leaves the hatchery.This is done to stay in compliance with NPDES permits, whichin turn helps ensure the health of the streams into which hatch-eries discharge. As a natural resource agency whose major ju-risdictional areas—fishing and boating—are reliant on water,the Commission has more than a passing interest in waterquality. And so it is in this area of hatchery operations that theCommission has focused much attention in recent years.

“At one time, the main job of state fish hatcheries was sim-ply to produce as many fish and as big fish as possible. Posi-tioning our fish hatcheries as good ecological neighbors isalso now an important goal of our fish production program.This goal has led to some impressive changes in the way ourhatcheries operate and in the quality of the streams into whichthey discharge water,” said Commission Executive DirectorDoug Austen.

Some of the changes are straightforward, such as the in-stallation at hatcheries of large sludge storage tanks. Thesetanks, many with a capacity of a quarter-million gallons, holdthe excess feed and fish feces that collect on the bottom ofthe raceways, which is cleaned in clarifiers and then storedin the tanks. The stored sludge is then later applied understringent nutrient management guidelines as fertilizer to farm

fields. Applying this waste to agricultural fieldsprovides two distinct ecological benefits: Fewersolids are discharged directly into streams, andthe fish manure is an organic replacement forchemical fertilizers.

Other improvements are less obvious butequally beneficial—for instance, the use of liq-uid oxygen. Liquid oxygen injection systemsnow in place at Commission hatcheries providean oxygen-rich environment in the raceways.This leads to healthier and less-stressed fish,which has the benefit of increasing the efficiencywith which they transform food into bodygrowth. The result: More feed used by the fishand less unused feed in the wastewater.

Do changes like these work? Thus far, theresults have been encouraging concerning popu-

State Fish Hatchery Improvementsby Dan Tredinnick

Tylersville State Fish Hatchery, Clinton County

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • March-April 2006 www.fish.state.pa.us8

www.fish.state.pa.us Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • March-April 2006 9

lation strength and diversity of aquatic insects, one of the keymeasures applied to hatchery permits.

For instance, Bellefonte State Fish Hatchery sits in the heartof the “Fisherman’s Paradise” stretch of Spring Creek, Cen-tre County. Using a ranking scale to reflect the general healthof this benthic (stream bottom) community, a monitoringstation downstream of Bellefonte in 2001 scored 10, a poorrating. Sampled in 2005, the same stretch had improved to ascore of 22. In 2005, the largest percentage of the benthicorganisms captured was mayflies. Mayflies are consid-ered “pollution-intolerant.” That is to say that they don’tthrive in water that has been impaired. Their strong pres-ence below the Bellefonte State Fish Hatchery is there-fore a clear benefit.

The stream’s response at the Benner Spring State FishHatchery was even more interesting. Benner Spring is alsolocated on Spring Creek, upstream of Bellefonte. Whilescores for the monitoring upstream of the hatchery havebeen declining since 2001, the opposite has been occur-ring downstream of the hatchery discharge. In fact, themeasures used indicate that the stream is a higher qualitybelow the hatchery than above it!

Conditions will continue to improve on Spring Creekand other streams associated with state fish hatcheries,thanks to some major (and costly) upgrades coming soon.In July 2005, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commissionjoined the rest of the Commonwealth in hailing the en-actment of Growing Greener II, a voter-approved plan thatinvests $625 million in environmental programs. Includedin this legislation was an allotment of $27.5 million forstate facilities and lands managed by the Commission. Attheir July 19, 2005, quarterly meeting, the commissionersapproved the use of Growing Greener II funds for pro-ceeding with critical infrastructure upgrades at five Com-monwealth-owned fish hatcheries: Bellefonte, BennerSpring, and Pleasant Gap State Fish Hatcheries in Centre

County; Huntsdale State Fish Hatchery in CumberlandCounty; and Tylersville State Fish Hatchery in Clinton County.

A contract for Phase 1 of the overall Tylersvilleupgrade project has already been awarded. The$1.7 million effluent treatment and infrastruc-ture improvement project will incorporate thelatest aquaculture effluent treatment technologyinto the hatchery. This technology will includethe implementation and integration of a high-flow capacity microscreen filter system for totalhatchery flow along with the option of process-ing settling pond water before filtration.

A similar upgrade project at Pleasant Gap iscurrently out to bid with construction expectedto commence this summer. The estimated costof the project is $2.1 million. Upgrades forBellefonte, Benner Spring and Huntsdale are cur-rently being designed by consulting engineers.

Concluded Austen: “I think it is fair to say thatour fish hatcheries have remade themselves over the past four orso years and will continue that process over the next several yearsas we invest Growing Greener funds in major hatchery upgrades.This is a great story and one that will only get better.”

Dan Tredinnick is the Commission’s press secretary.

Pleasant Gap State Fish Hatchery, Centre County

Fish for stocking are our hatcheries’ most visible side. TheCommission is using Growing Greener funds to effect majorhatchery improvements.

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