Ohio's
Steelhead
Castatia Hatchery
More Bad news. I received some inside information regarding the 2011 steelhead stocking numbers. As of now it looks like there will not be 400,000 smolts arriving at Ohio's steelhead hatchery from Michigan. Those that are in the know say MI hopes to deliver 400,000 smolts but, Ohio's contacts say the numbers are much lower in the range of 50-75 percent or 200,000 - 300,000 smolts. We'll keep you updated as information is made available.
Casey
Posted: Friday, May 28, 2010
By Mike Moore
Editor |
Castalia, Ohio - What appeared to be a potential problem in early April for Ohio's steelhead program worked itself out by late in the month.
Due to warm and dry weather in Michigan this spring, Ohio hatchery officials were worried that they wouldn't get enough eggs from the state up north.
Ohio receives its steelhead eggs from Michigan's Little Manistee strain of fish. The warm weather in Michigan this spring had prematurely stopped the spring steelhead run.
"Since that time, things have picked up considerably (in Michigan) so we're looking good on that deal," said Ray Petering, fisheries administrator for the Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife.
All of this underscores the need for Ohio to become self-sufficient in its steelhead program, said Petering.
Under construction currently is a hatchery building at Castalia that will allow Ohio to produce its own steelhead. The project has been slow in coming along, said Petering.
"That ground up there (in Castalia) with all of those blue holes is kind of like a sponge," he said. "So, you have to do more to build it up and then let everything settle."
Petering said the hatchery building is likely still a couple of years out from being fully operational.
"It will be a huge improvement when we get to that point," he said. "It will put us in a position where if we want to take some of our own eggs and eventually maybe move completely in that direction we'll have that option."
As it stands now, Ohio stocks 400,000 yearling steelhead in five Lake Erie tributaries each spring, said Elmer Heyob, fish hatchery administrator for the Division of Wildlife. The state stocks another 200,000 steelhead in the fall, all taken from Michigan's stock of fish. The new building at Castalia would allow Ohio to hatch out and train 400,000 steelhead fry annually, said Heyob.
"We make a heck of a program out of those things and we're not even getting the best from the state of Michigan," Petering said.
Ohio gets excess eggs from Michigan, those leftovers that Michigan does not intend to use, Petering said.
In Ohio, the Chagrin River receives 90,000 annual steelhead, the Grand River gets 90,000, the Rocky River receives 90,000, Conneaut Creek gets 75,000 and the Vermillion River receives 55,000.