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There will be no more trout stocking at willow beach for who knows how long to come. Amidst panic at the hatchery on Saturday all the remaining trout were dumped into the river totaling 10,000 pounds (~11,000 fish). 22,000 pounds of fish were dead and buried. Exact details are still unclear, but what may have been the cause was the last remaining water pump was nearly completed disabled by both the low water conditions and clogging due to algae/weed buildup which caused oxygen depletion in the trout storage tanks.
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Please state the source of your information???
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Information directly from rangers and the biologist himself of the Willow Beach fish hatchery. I was one of the first people on site on Saturday morning to see the thousands of trout dead/dying in the water from the full scale release.
Of course I walked through the hatchery and all the racetracks are dry and empty that once held the rainbow trout.
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Thank you for taking the time to post this information! It is greatly appreciated by all.
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I definitely felt the need to circulate this information. Didn't want anyone making the long trip out there for absolutely nothing.
Whilst speaking to one of the rangers, who I will leave unnamed, there was a report of two men seen dumping two buckets (5 gallon) of a chemical appearing to be red into the water near the hatchery. Supposedly the license plate was recorded. It is still unclear whether or not this has any relation to the event that unfolded Saturday morning.
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You asked for the source of the information........so I went digging and found more information.
There was another Trout die off August 12, 2013.
40,000 Trout were lost
[#ffffff][size 4][#ffffff][size 4]U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
[/size][/#ffffff][/size][/#ffffff][font "Arial,Arial"][size 3][font "Arial,Arial"][size 3]Southwest Region (Arizona ● New Mexico ● Oklahoma ●Texas) [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Arial,Arial"][#0000ff][size 3][font "Arial,Arial"][#0000ff][size 3][font "Arial,Arial"][#0000ff][size 3]www.fws.gov/southwest/
[/size][/#0000ff][/font][/size][/#0000ff][/font][/size][/#0000ff][/font][font "Arial,Arial Narrow"][size 2][font "Arial,Arial Narrow"][size 2]Public Affairs Office
PO Box 1306
Albuquerque, NM 87103
505/248-6911
505/248-6915 (Fax)
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Arial,Arial"][size 7][font "Arial,Arial"][size 7]News Release
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Arial,Arial"][size 3][font "Arial,Arial"][size 3]For Release: [/size][/font][/size][/font][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]August 16, 2013 [/font]
[/size][size 3][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Contacts: [/font][/size][/size][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Nicole Haskett-Osborn at: 505-248-6599 [/font]
[/size][font "Arial,Arial"][#212121][size 4][font "Arial,Arial"][#212121][size 4][font "Arial,Arial"][#212121][size 4]Massive Fish Die Off at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery
[/size][/#212121][/font][/size][/#212121][/font][/size][/#212121][/font][size 3]Sometime during the night of Monday August 12, the pipeline at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery that delivers water to raceways became clogged with sediment and vegetation killing thousands of pounds of rainbow trout. The blockage was not discovered until early Tuesday morning when hatchery staff went to the raceways to feed the trout. [/size][#212121][size 3][#212121][size 3]All of the 40,000 trout that were lost were large, stockable sized fish, weighing a total of 25,000 lbs. at last count.
Hatchery manager Mark Olson and his staff immediately began working to clear the pipeline, finally freeing a massive clump of vegetation by turning the pumps on and off in order to work the blockage through the system. The hatchery is currently operating with only one intake pipeline due to the recent structural failure of the second pipeline. The vegetation load varies seasonally, and although this is the first time the hatchery has experienced a full water blockage of this kind, there have been partial blockages in the past and staff have been battling aquatic vegetation coming through the hatchery for many years.
After cleaning the raceways, Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery reports that the blockage in the intake water pipeline has resulted in a 40% loss of the trout raised on the hatchery. At this time, hatchery staff are using all available measures to save the remaining trout. However, as a result of this massive and unexpected die-off, there will be a serious impact on trout stocking into the Colorado River. Fishermen and anglers should be advised that smaller sized fish are already being held for October and November commitments, but stockings numbers will be much lower than normal.
[/size][/#212121][/size][/#212121][size 3]_______________________________________________________________________
[/size][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/
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Here is the offical report for the 11-25-13 trout die-off
[url "http://www.fws.gov/southwest/docs/WB-PR11.25.2013.pdf"]http://www.fws.gov/southwest/docs/WB-PR11.25.2013.pdf[/url]
[#ffffff][size 4][#ffffff][size 4]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
[/size][/#ffffff][/size][/#ffffff] [font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]Southwest Region (Arizona ● New Mexico ● Oklahoma ●Texas) [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#0000ff][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#0000ff][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#0000ff][size 3]www.fws.gov/southwest/
[/size][/#0000ff][/font][/size][/#0000ff][/font][/size][/#0000ff][/font][font "Arial,Arial Narrow"][size 2][font "Arial,Arial Narrow"][size 2]Public Affairs Office
PO Box 1306
Albuquerque, NM 87103
505/248-6911
505/248-6915 (Fax)
[/size][/font][/size][/font] [font "Arial,Arial"][size 7][font "Arial,Arial"][size 7]News Release
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]Release Date: November 25, 2013
Contact: Nicole Haskett Osborn at: (505) 248-6599
[/size][/font][/size][/font] [font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 4][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 4][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 4]Update: Massive Fish Die Off at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery
[/size][/#202020][/font][/size][/#202020][/font][/size][/#202020][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#212121][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#212121][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#212121][size 3]On Thursday, November 21, the elevation in Lake Mohave was low enough to starve the rainbow trout production water pumps at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery (NFH). The loss of water flow affected six raceways causing no water to be able to flow through to fish. Three of the six raceways under production were loaded light enough that they did not have any fish losses at the time the issue was noted. Staff were able to pull screens to release live fish from these raceways, where they were then drained into Lake Mohave, saving 11,105 fish weighting a total of 7,782 pounds.
Unfortunately, the three other raceways were lost and no fish survived. The total loss for those raceways was 20,880 fish, weighing a total of 13,420 pounds.
The Willow Beach NFH uses water from the Colorado River to raise rainbow trout for state recreational angling programs. Fluctuations in the flow of the river affect how much water is available to the hatchery’s intake pipeline.
Problems with the pumps had occurred once before this year on August 12, when s[/size][/#212121][/font][/size][/#212121][/font][/size][/#212121][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]ometime during the night the pipeline at Willow Beach NFH that delivers water to raceways became clogged with sediment and vegetation killing thousands of pounds of rainbow trout. The blockage was not discovered until early Tuesday morning when hatchery staff went to the raceways to feed the trout. [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 3]All of the 40,000 trout that were lost were large, stockable sized fish, weighing a total of 25,000 lbs. at last count. The hatchery [/size][/#202020][/font][/size][/#202020][/font][/size][/#202020][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]is [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][#202020][size 3]operating with only one intake pipeline due to the structural failure of the second pipeline.
As with the first die off, this massive and unexpected loss of fish will have a serious impact on rainbow trout stocking into the Colorado River.
[/size][/#202020][/font][/size][/#202020][/font][/size][/#202020][/font] [font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]________________________________________________________________________
[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Times New Roman,Times New Roman"][size 3]The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
www.fws.gov/southwest/
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Thanks for finding this Toby.
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[url "http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=5D0344A9-A2BD-B6DB-CA74C6A63F30B70D"]http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=5D0344A9-A2BD-B6DB-CA74C6A63F30B70D[/url]
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Announces No Fish Hatchery Closures This Year, Issues Report Highlighting Ongoing Budget Challenges
Agency to Work with Stakeholders to Put System on More Sustainable Footing
November 15, 2013 Contacts:
Laury Parramore
[url "mailto:Laury_Parramore@fws.gov"]Laury_Parramore@fws.gov[/url]
(703) 358-2541
cell: (703) 589-6947
[center][url "http://www.fws.gov/news/newsImage.png"] ![[Image: newsImageThumb.png]](http://www.fws.gov/news/newsImageThumb.png) [/url]
Feeding Fish in Hatchery Raceway. Credit: George Gentry/USFWS
[/center]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today announced that it does not intend to close any of the nation’s national fish hatcheries in the current fiscal year, but warned that closures may be necessary in FY 2015 given fiscal uncertainty and growing operations costs. The Service released a report today examining the challenges facing the Service’s National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS), which will serve as the basis of discussions with stakeholders on how best to operate the system in a more sustainable manner while supporting the agency’s highest fish and aquatic conservation priorities.
“This report sounds the alarm on a hatchery system unable to meet its mission responsibilities in the current budget climate,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “In the coming months through the 2015 budget process, I have directed the Service to work with all of our partners to determine whether the options identified in the report, or others, are necessary and appropriate to put the system on a more sustainable financial footing.”
Director Ashe added that the agency intends to take immediate actions to prevent imminent closures, but noted that additional actions may be necessary to address long-term funding shortfalls.
“We are putting a Band-Aid on the hatchery system. Unless we can find a way to cover costs in a more sustainable fashion, the system will eventually need surgery,” said Ashe. “The challenges we are facing are not new; however, we have reached the point where – in the absence of long-term solutions – we will have no option but to make tough choices to bring expense in line with actual revenues.”
National fish hatchery operations have been greatly impacted by sequestration, which reduced the NFHS budget, in the face of increasing operations costs. If sequestration continues into FY 2014, the Service will have lost close to $6 million in appropriations for hatchery operations funding since FY 2012, while operations costs have continued to rise. In response, the Service in the fall of 2012 launched a comprehensive review of the 70 fish and aquatic species propagation hatcheries to ensure it will be positioned to address highest priority aquatic resource needs now and into the future while working within its budget limitations.
The National Fish Hatchery System: Strategic Hatchery and Workforce Planning Report outlines the current propagation programs as well as problems associated with sustaining operation of the NFHS in its current configuration, and suggests possible changes to how the system could be managed under several different scenarios. The report identifies the NFHS’s focus on five priorities for fish and aquatic species propagation, including: recovery of species federally listed as threatened or endangered; restoration of imperiled aquatic species; tribal trust responsibilities; other propagation programs for native species; and other propagation programs for non-native species.
The Service will use the analysis to engage stakeholders in a discussion of the future of the NFHS. The Service is also working with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Bonneville Power Administration and Tennessee Valley Authority and has put in place agreements to provide reimbursable funds for the operational costs associated with mitigation fish production on streams and rivers impacted by federal water resources projects. Congress supported these steps, in recognition that the Service can no longer fund the production of fish for mitigation of federal water resources projects within its current budget.
The report can be found at: [url "http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2013/pdf/NFHSReviewCoverPageandReport.pdf"]http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2013/pdf/NFHSReviewCoverPageandReport.pdf[/url]
The appendices can be found at: [url "http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2013/pdf/NFHSReportAppendices.pdf"]http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2013/pdf/NFHSReportAppendices.pdf[/url]
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Great work, Tony. Question--When the article is talking about the programs that will stay in place for the next 2 fiscal years, does "...and other propagation programs for non-native species." encompass the trout program? What do you think? That was my big speculation, that the raceways are inoperable for raising trout, but those for razorback and bonytail are okay--I hope that this means they've extended the life of the trout programs as well---hope [:/]\
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I don't remember ever seeing razorbacks in raceways like they had the trout. When I saw the razorback program back in the day, they were keeping razorbacks in round above-ground pools with covers on them.
No clue how they run the program now though - that was over a decade ago.
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i got an idea to raise money for the programs. 50% of tickets given for no license go to the program. and have one officer doing rounds and sunset, well have the renovations paid off real quick for willow beach and have a nice park again!
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You know you're right! Darn poachers.
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Good work Mack!
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Update to "here is the latest"
Only one more place to fish for Tour on the river (Lees Ferry)
Grand Canyon releases plan to aid native fish [/b]
[/b]
[url "http://www.mynews4.com/news/state/story/Grand-Canyon-releases-plan-to-aid-native-fish/Lg0466vETEGlwpoFJYC7vg.cspx"][/url]www.mynews4.com/news/state/story/Grand-C...ETEGlwpoFJYC7vg.cspx[/url]
Grand Canyon releases plan to aid native fish
Updated: 12/15 3:45 pm
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and its tributaries used to be home to eight native fish species.
That was before Glen Canyon Dam was built near the Arizona-Utah border, making the environment less-than-ideal for spawning.
Officials with the National Park Service say they want to make sure native fish still present have the best chance for survival.
A 20-year fisheries management plan released this week puts in place measures to protect those fish and ensure that anglers have plenty of non-native rainbow trout to catch below the dam.
Biologists and volunteers would boost populations of endangered humpback chub by placing them in select Grand Canyon creeks. They'll also study habitat for the endangered razorback sucker on the far western edge of the national park near Lake Mead
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