ALTMAR, N.Y. – The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s fish hatchery on the Salmon River, the largest in the DEC’s hatchery system, is slated for more than $5 million in upgrades beginning next year.
The hatchery, the state’s largest, was built in 1980 specializes in raising Pacific salmon, steelhead and brown trout. It was built to revive and enhance the Great Lakes fishery and now provides most of the fish for the multi-million-dollar Lake Ontario salmonid fishery.
Each year, this hatchery stocks more than 1.4 million Chinook salmon fingerlings (young fish 3-5 inches long), 155,000 coho fall fingerlings (3-5 inches), 90,000 coho salmon yearlings (a fish between one and two years old), and 750,000 steelhead yearlings.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that $5.25 million will be spent to modernize the facility. The fishing scene on Lake Ontario and its tributaries generates some $85.9 million annually to the state’s economy, according to the DEC. Salmon River angler expenditures alone contribute $27 million.
“The funding will support the development of cutting-edge technology to save and reuse water to increase fish production,” Cuomo said in a news release announcing the grant. “Raising fish is a water-intensive practice and the hatchery currently uses a water flow of 10,000 gallons of water per minute. The improvements will enable the facility to save money while raising more fish for stocking.”
The Salmon River was initially selected as the location to build the hatchery for the hatchery due to the fact that it had the highest water quality and coolest temperatures of any of the Lake Ontario tributaries, said Fran Verdoliva, the DEC’s special assistant to the Salmon River. The water used at the hatchery is a combination of water drawn from Beaver Dam Brook (a tributary of the Salmon River) and well water.
Verdoliva said New York’s participation in the Great Lakes Fisheries Program began in 1968. Before the hatchery was built, “any fish that were stocked in Lake Ontario. Pacific salmon, steelhead, etc. . had to be raised in the other 11 hatcheries around the state and transported to Lake Ontario,” he said. The Altmar facility is modeled after similar hatcheries in the Northwest.
Thomas Kielbasinski, the hatchery’s manager, pointed out the DEC's fish hatchery in Altmar is almost 40 years old and constructed of mostly steel and concrete. “It’s a big piece of infrastructure and some things just need to be replaced," he said.
Tom Kielbasinski, the hatchery’s manager, pointed out the Altmar hatchery is almost 40 years old and constructed of mostly steel and concrete.
“It’s a big piece of infrastructure and some things just need to be replaced. The hatchery’s fish ladder, which is vital to the operation of the fish hatchery is ailing and needs to be replaced. The hatchery’s plumbing, tanks are getting old. They still function, but aren’t as reliable as we’d like them to be. “
The hatchery is also a tourist attraction. Its visitor’s area includes a giant aquarium and a number of eye-catching displays. In addition, there are several viewing areas where visitors can observe hatchery operations and fish coming into the hatchery via a fish ladder from Beaver Dam Brook.
Verdoliva said during a typical fall the hatchery from Sept. 1 to the end of November draws more than 35,000 visitors.
During the fall of 2017, DEC announced completion of $150,000 in improvements at the hatchery, which included new live fish displays, revitalized public areas, signage, and interpretive displays in the visitor center.
Among the improvements the additional $5.2 million will cover:
*Replacement of the rectangular tanks inside the hatchery in the Start Tank room with new, circular runways. The circular runways will require less water, make it easier to control fish diseases and reduce iron deposits on the sides of the tanks that come from the hatchery’s well water.
The rectangular fish tanks will be replaced with circular tanks that allow for a more efficient use of water.
*Replacement of the well head for the hatchery’s well and parts of the hatchery’s internal plumbing system.
*Replacement of the hatchery’s fish ladder and observation areas that allow visitors to see the salmon and steelhead coming into the hatchery, “rather than having to lean over a railing.”
The fish ladder, which spawning salmon and steelhead use to make their way up into the Salmon River Fish Hatchery, is need of major repairs.
*Getting a new fork lift that takes fish out of holding ponds and brings them into the hatchery’s Spawn Room, where eggs are taken from the spawning fish.
*Upgrading the hatchery’s alarm system that informs hatchery staff of drops in water levels in key areas, or temperature problems.
*WiFi. Currently, the hatchery does not have WiFi.
* An improved filtering system in the egg incubation/UV treatment Area of the hatchery decrease or eliminate silt in the water.
*Several additions to the hatchery’s visitor’s area.
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Work on some these improvements are set to begin this coming spring, such as replacement of the tanks inside the Start Tank Room and the Fish Ladder, while others have yet to go out to bid, Kielbasinski said.
“There a lot of improvements that can be made so we can grow better fish and do it more efficiently,” he said. “Healthier, happier fish make for happy anglers.”
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