Although there
were reductions in state funding for the Bellingham Hatchery in Whatcom Falls
Park, local funding has helped keep the hatchery producing a consistent number
of fish in recent years, according to Kevin Clark, who has been managing the
hatchery since 2005.
The
Bellingham Hatchery has seen an increase in local funding in wake of budget
reductions for state funded facilities, according to Clark.
“Citizens
are getting together to supplement the state funds, because there is still a
large fishing community that wants to see us stick around,” said Clark.
According
to Clark, the Wildcat Steelhead Club and the Northwest Washington Steelheaders
Club are examples of clubs in the area that contribute to the local funding.
Don
Collen, president of the Wildcat Steelhead Club says they donate about $10,000
to $15,000 a year to various hatcheries that promote conservation, Bellingham
Hatchery being one of them. “Any of the money that comes out of our funds has
to go to game and fish conservation,” he said.
Clubs
like the Wildcat Steelhead Club understand the importance of what the hatchery
does. “If we don’t have hatcheries, we won’t have fish. Eventually all the
fishing would go downhill,” said Collen.
As a result of
reduced state general funds, the hatchery relies on the local funding and the
state’s wildlife fund. People who purchase fishing licenses are putting money
into the wildlife fund, which becomes part of the state funding for facilities
like the Bellingham Hatchery, according to Clark.
The Bellingham Hatchery
raises rainbow trout to supplement recreational purposes.
Currently, there
are around 50,000 small trout in the ponds at the Bellingham Hatchery that are
growing to size. This number is consistent with numbers from the past few
years, according to Clark. The amount of fish being raised at the hatchery is
about 60 percent of what the hatchery produced before reductions in state
funding.
The
Bellingham Hatchery is a satellite facility of the Whatcom Creek Hatchery in
Maritime Heritage Park in Bellingham, Wash. Clark manages it in partnership
with Earl Steele, the Fisheries Technology Instructor at Bellingham Technical
College.
The
hatchery receives the trout as eyed eggs in boxes in December. The eggs are
then incubated until they hatch. The recently hatched fish are kept in a fish
trough, and are then transferred to the round ponds to grow to size. The trout
are released about a year and a half after the hatchery receives the eggs,
Clark said.
According
to Clark, the hatchery is responsible for providing rainbow trout for about 16
lakes in Skagit County and Whatcom Island area. The designated lakes are big
enough to sustain hatchery fish, and already contain primarily rainbow trout.
The hatchery is
operated by the Fisheries and Aquaculture program at the Bellingham Technical
College, according to Steele. “Everything is done by students. It’s hands on
training,” he said.
Regarding the
future of the hatchery, Clark said, “I see it changing. I’d say it’s good, but
different. We may be changing how we go about things. The days of just stocking
tons of fish are over because of negative effects on native fish.” Clark
explains that the hatchery will aim to limit negative effects on native fish by
supplementing recreational fishing responsibly.
“It is important
that we preserve native species. The hatchery fish are genetically similar, and
behaviorally different from native fish,” Clark said.
Clark said that it
is difficult to make progress with conservation when the people in government
positions are thinking short-term goals, because they want to get things done
while they are in office. “Protecting and conserving native species takes a long
time,” he said.
With the help of local funding, the Bellingham
Hatchery can continue to raise and release trout, and work towards more
responsible releases. “As the environment gets worse, the more people will need
artificial fish,” said Clark.
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