HEBER — The Midway Fish Hatchery is back in the fish-rearing business after nearly five years of holding nothing but empty spillways.
A clean water supply and a small, steel building will allow the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to begin raising fish this year, albeit on a limited basis.
The hatchery was closed and thousands of pounds of fish killed back in 2000 after whirling disease spores were found in the raceways.
Since that time, the DWR has been trying to find enough money, about $7 million, to rebuild the hatchery.
It was decided this year, said Chuck Bobo, hatchery manager, that there should be an attempt to raise fish at Midway, based on available money.
"We have a 50-by-100-foot steel building we'll use for now. The number of fish we can raise will be nothing like what it was. But, hopefully, when we get the new facility we'll be back in full production," he said.
Prior to finding whirling disease, the hatchery was producing between 160,000 and 200,000 pounds of fish annually. It was considered one of the most vital links the DWR had to raising fish for Utah waters. With the single building, Bobo expects to raise around 20,000 pounds annually.
Currently, the facility is holding sterile rainbow that will be planted in Strawberry this year. Bobo hopes to get some Bear Lake cutthroat that will also be planted in Strawberry.
It is believed that whirling disease made its way into the hatchery through the water supply. Since the disease was found, wildlife biologists have drilled several wells near the hatchery.
Shallow wells drilled soon after the hatchery was closed were either contaminated or were susceptible to contamination.
Bobo said the latest well goes down roughly 400 feet, "and it is a clean source of water. We tested the water for 10 1/2 months. We also put in sentinel fish that we watched closely. The new well has been certified clean. We had to go deep to get clean water."
Joe Valentine, aquatic culture supervisor, said that with the clean water and modern technology, if and when a new hatchery is built, "we should be able to raise between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds of fish annually."
Work is currently going forward on the new designs for the old White Rocks and Mantua hatcheries. Valentine said work on those hatcheries will be done in phases.
The Mammoth Creek hatchery, which was also hit with whirling disease, is also back in partial production. Officials are currently looking at different filtering systems in order to increase rearing capabilities.. Once a method is selected, then production will be stepped up.
Valentine said that a decision will be made "as soon as possible."
Several shallow wells, ranging from 74 to 170 feet, were drilled in an attempt to find a clean water system for Midway soon after it was closed. Dye and tracer tests showed water from these wells could be infected. It was then decided a deeper well was needed, said Bobo, "and we went down as far as we could with the equipment that was available. The flow isn't as great, but with the new technology we'll be able to raise more fish."
Because whirling disease can be so easily spread, the expense in building a hatchery is greatly increased because all of the racebuilt at Midway, the existing metal building will be used for storage and as a garage. Officials are therefore using freestanding raceways that are designed to be removed.
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