RIVERDALE, N.D. (AP) - The Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery has played an increasingly larger and more important role throughout its history. Construction on the facility began in 1961. The first fish were produced at the hatchery the following year. Initial stockings into Garrison Reservoir, now known as Lake Sakakawea, were of northern pike, walleye and rainbow trout.
Those initial stockings of fish marked an important beginning for the hatchery, which is located just a few hundred yards behind Garrison Dam. Since 1962 the hatchery has produced countless millions of fish for North Dakota and other states. In 2010 the economic impact of stocking of Garrison Hatchery fish was found to be $184 million. Today fish from the Garrison Hatchery account for over 70 percent of the walleye caught in North Dakota.
The main hatchery building remains at the location today, complete with indoor raceways and nine jar batteries with the capacity of holding nearly 9,000 quarts of fish eggs. Fish eggs brought into the hatchery are cared for in the jar batteries until hatching. Later the young fish are transferred to raceways or outdoor rearing ponds.
The number of fish the hatchery produces annually has varied throughout the years. Some years the hatchery has produced 10 million walleyes and nearly 3 million northern pike, critical to North Dakota fisheries, but other fish raising projects keep hatchery staff busy throughout the year. Species that have been raised at the Garrison facility includes bluegill, smallmouth bass, trout, salmon, sturgeon, perch, paddlefish, sauger and burbot.
Although the Garrison Dam Hatchery is a federal facility, it receives significant funding from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department to fill the role of a state fish hatchery. As such, the hatchery serves a combination of state and federal needs. Not only does the hatchery serve a vital role in stocking North Dakota waters, it is often tasked with meeting important needs nationally.
“Both nationally and locally the hatchery has played a role in endangered species recovery,” Rob Holm, project manager, told the Minot Daily News (https://bit.ly/1bQOfGF ).
The hatchery continues to play a key role in the recovery program of the endangered pallid sturgeon which was nearing extinction. Thousands of pallids have been raised at the hatchery and then released into the wild in the hopes of saving the species at the eleventh hour.
A lesser known recovery program involves pure sauger in Wyoming’s Wind River. Those fish were believed to have been down to as few as 200 breeding adults. Thanks to a rearing program at the Garrison Hatchery, pure sauger have been given a new and better chance to survive in a river where they have thrived for hundreds of years.
“Yes, they were down to a few hundred. Now they’ve got a couple of good year classes in Wind River,” said Holm.
In the last few years North Dakota has added greatly to its list of bodies of water managed as fisheries. More water on the landscape has meant more opportunities for sportsmen, but it also meant more demand for young fish needed to stock new lakes. The Garrison Hatchery has met that demand.
The grounds of the Garrison Hatchery cover 224 acres. At one time the layout consisted of the main hatchery building and some outdoor ponds and raceways. In 1987 and ’88 North Dakota Game and Fish constructed a salmon building on the grounds and added an additional 40 outdoor rearing ponds to bring the total of outdoor ponds at the hatchery to 64.
“If we didn’t have that kind of capacity we certainly wouldn’t be making the difference we are now,” said Holm. “It’s what gave the state the ability to do the stocking they do today.”
A pole-barn-type building that was constructed as both a storage facility and cover for outdoor raceways was upgraded in 1996. The building was insulated, a concrete floor installed and several tanks were added for young sturgeon.
“We’ve stocked out 75 percent of the pallid sturgeon nationwide,” said Holm. “If not for our efforts propagation would be in serious trouble.”
The hatchery is open to the public Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for self-guided tours. The tour includes several 400 gallon aquariums that showcase several species of fish found in North Dakota waters.
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Information from: Minot Daily News, https://www.minotdailynews.com
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