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Ashland NFWCO
 Midwest Region
 ***Dedicated To Tribal Aquaculture Programs***
          Fish Jumping
              **December 1999 ~ Volume 30****Coordinator:
Frank G. Stone 
(715-682-6185) Ext. 12
U.S. Fish and
                  Wildlife Service
Email: [email protected]** Topics
  of Interest: MTAN ArrowWe're Back
      MTAN ArrowCool/Warm Water Fish Culture Course
      MTAN ArrowKeweenaw Bay Indian Community
      MTAN ArrowRed Lake Indian Reservation
      MTAN ArrowGulf Sturgeon Spawning Techniques (Part 1)
      MTAN ArrowTribal Environmental and Natural Resource Assistance Handbook
      MTAN ArrowNew Fish Hatchery at the Lac Du Flambeau Reservation  We're Back You may recall in a previous issue of the MTAN, we expressed  our concern that this publication may not be able to continue. Funding for the  initial startup and continuation of the newsletter (for the past seven years)  has been provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Midwest Region). The MTAN is  grateful to the Bureau for their long term support and commitment to Tribal  fish hatchery programs. However, over time all things change as new priorities  and responsibilities are established. One of these changes is that the  financial support of the MTAN is now the goal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  Service (Ashland Fisheries Resources Office). The decision to keep the MTAN  going was ultimately determined as a direct result of the AUser Survey@ we  initiated last summer. The responses we received from our readers expressed a  strong desire that the MTAN should continue. The MTAN will continue to highlight Tribal fish hatchery  programs as well as state-of-the-art fish culture practices. However, one of  the changes we will incorporate (starting with the March 2000 issue) is to post  each the MTAN 's on the Internet and mail our participating members an  announcement of each current issue. You can find all previous issues of the  MTAN at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ashland/mtanhome.htmlYou can print each issue directly from your computer to suit  your specific needs. If your Tribal fish hatchery program has not yet  established Internet access, be sure to contact Frank Stone so we can arrange  to have the full version of each MTAN newsletter mailed directly to you.  Cool/Warm Water Fish Culture Course I you are interested in attending a cool/warm water fish  culture course, please contact the MTAN. We are only soliciting for interested  participants at this time, no official dates have been established. However,  the MTAN will pass on the responses we receive to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National   Conservation Training   Academy so they can  better decide if such a course is warranted. Please direct your calls to Frank  Stone ([email protected]) at 715-682-6185 ext. 202.  Keweenaw   Bay Indian Community The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is pleased to  announce the signing of a THIRD fish isolation cooperative agreement with the  Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Fish Hatchery will once  again serve as a broodstock isolation facility to help enhance fish restoration  efforts in the Great Lakes. This new agreement  is a continuation of the lake trout and coaster brook trout restoration effort  that was first started by the Service and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community  four years ago. This new agreement will foster the continued integration of  fish health and fish genetics into the Services captive broodstock program. The  Keweenaw Bay Indian Fish Hatchery first initiated this two-year cooperative  program in September of 1995. The projects continue to include the operation of  a lake trout and coaster brook trout broodstock isolation facility at the  Keweenaw Bay Fish Hatchery and the production of 100,000 lake trout yearlings  at the Iron River National Fish Hatchery (Iron    River Wisconsin). The lake trout and coaster brook trout resources of the  Great Lakes Region will be the big winner thanks to the cooperative efforts of  the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. Fish hatcheries play an important role in  co-managing inter-jurisdictional fishery resources and lake restoration  efforts. Midwestern tribes have responded to the modern day  challenges of multi-jurisdictional resource management in their unique role as  users and managers of over 900,000 acres of reservation inland lakes, treaty  ceded territories and the Great Lakes. The  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is grateful to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community  for there continued support of the needs of the National Fish Hatchery system  and the Great Lakes Fishery.  Red   Lake Indian Reservation **By: John Karl, Great Lakes  Information Network** Members of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and other Minnesota and Wisconsin  tribes learned state-of-the-art aquaculture techniques during a three-day  intensive training session last August at UW-Milwaukee's Great Lakes WATER  Institute. The tribe is turning to aquaculture to revitalize its economy after  commercial fishing on Minnesota's Upper and Lower Red   Lakes was closed down in  1997. The training is part of a project to adopt a new form of commercial fish  production that may allow fish with the Red  Lake label to once again grace the  dinner tables of the north central United States. The WATER Institute is cooperating with the Red Lake Band,  the Minneapolis  office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the University of Wisconsin Sea  Grant Institute to revitalize the tribe's commercial fishing industry, boost  the local economy, and establish a model of fish farming for other tribes and  entrepreneurs to follow. The training program featured specialized classroom and  hands-on sessions on the operation of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS),  a new technology for low-impact, high-production aquaculture. Participants  learned the practical aspects of fish health, yellow perch biology,  microbiology, water chemistry, and the engineering aspects of RAS units. The three-day program was part of a project involving dual,  commercial-scale RAS units in Wisconsin and Minnesota. One was  constructed at the Aquaculture   Center with a $10,000  grant from the UW Sea Grant Institute and a matching grant from the Red Lake  Band. A parallel unit and other components were built on the Red Lake  Reservation with an additional $65,000 from the Red Lake Band. The Aquaculture Center's  unit will be used for research, education, and training, while the Red Lake  unit will be used for training and fish production. Fred Binkowski, Senior Scientist at the Great Lakes WATER  Institute, has been conducting research on the intensive culture of yellow  perch for more than a decade. Binkowski began working with tribal biologists in  1992 and with the Red Lake Band more recently. In March, the first perch  fingerlings were placed in the tribe's RAS demonstration unit. Tribal members  have been caring for the fish, monitoring growth, and learning to solve  problems. The WATER Institute's Aquaculture  Center, in conjunction with the Bureau  of Indian Affairs, has also conducted cooperative projects with the Leech Lake  Reservation in Minnesota and the Lac du  Flambeau Band in Wisconsin. The following article was submitted to the MTAN by Allen  Brown (Hatchery Manager of the Welaka National Fish Hatchery). Although the  fish species discussed is Gulf sturgeon, the MTAN feels there are a great deal  of fish culture techniques similar to those used for rearing Midwestern  sturgeon. This kind of information transfer can be very helpful in planning and  designing Lake sturgeon propagation procedures  within your program area.  Gulf Sturgeon Spawning Techniques (Part 1 of 2) **Submitted By: Allen Brown, Welaka NFH, Welaka, FL,  904-467-2374** Gulf sturgeon are anadromous fish that migrate from the Gulf  of Mexico in the early spring to ascend the fresh water Gulf coast river  systems for spawning and return to the marine habitat in the fall. The Gulf  sturgeon are slow growing, long-lived fish, with specimens reported measuring  up to 4.3 m in length and weighing up to 226 kg. However, current data has  documented very few Gulf sturgeon in excess of 90 kg. Due to the large size of  the fish, special equipment is required in order to handle the fish in a  stress-free manner, and reduce the risk of injury to the fish and its  investigators. **1 . BROODSTOCK HOLDING AND HANDLING** A. Holding Tanks Broodstock holding tanks should have the capacity to  maintain several fish in good physical condition. Female and male broodstock  were held 7 and 30 days respectively in separate, circular, fiberglass tanks, 3  m in diameter and 0.9 m deep, without exhibiting any adverse effects. Tank  interiors should be a light color to help locate and distinguish various fish  from one another. Outside tank valves and drains are recommended to eliminate  any obstructions within the tank that could either injure or be damaged by the  fish. Also, in order to minimize any stress on the fish, the tanks should be  covered and sheltered from direct sunlight, and located in an area of minimal  public disturbance. DATA GAP: Gulf sturgeon females have been held in tanks for  up to seven days and have ovulated successfully. However, extended periods of  confinement may stress the females causing them to reabsorb the oocytes.  Further research is needed to address the time period female broodstock can be  confined and still ovulate successfully. The water in the broodstock holding tanks may be oxygenated  using mechanical aerators or by injecting the water into the tank above the  media. Water introduced in the tank to create a circular flow helps maintain  fish position. Water flows of 150 L/min or 3 tank exchanges/hr are recommended  minimum rates. Water supply systems should incorporate a generator, pumps, and  a valve manipulation system that would enable the shifting of water supply  functions. In addition, PVC pipe is suggested to be used to plumb in the water  supply system due to its low cost, availability, and handling efficiency. A 1,400 L oblong galvanized tank (240.0 cm long x 75.0 cm  wide x 60.0 cm deep) for short term holding of female broodstock is useful for  administering hormone injections and monitoring ovulation. This tank enables  fish to be removed with a minimum of stress and handling. It is suggested that  minimum water flows and dissolved oxygen levels be 70 L/m and 50 mg/L,  respectively. Sturgeon eggs are adhesive and ovulation can be better observed  in the holding tank if the tank interior is a light color or removable mats are  placed in the tank for the eggs to adhere. In addition, an overflow pipe  outside the tank can be equipped with a fine mesh net for the purpose of  collecting eggs released during ovulation. The tank also should be covered to minimize  any disturbances and keep the fish from jumping out. B. Marking Broodstock A method to identify individual fish is essential to reduce  stress on the fish during handling. Spaghetti tags inserted in pectoral and  pelvic fins are difficult to read without handling the fish. Larger cattle ear  tags attached to the caudal peduncle with nylon cable ties are readable, but  the peduncle area is subject to high irritation due to constant swimming. A  cattle ear tag attached to the dorsal fin with twine is easily readable, does  not irritate the fish, and is recommended. C. Aeration Water in brood holding and ovulation tanks, egg incubators  and larval tanks must maintain dissolved oxygen levels in excess of 5 mg/L in  order to maintain fish in a healthy, stress-free environment. Using a  regenerative blower to inject air through carbon, glass, or tube diffusers can  increase the dissolved oxygen in the units by 2 mg/L. Although more expensive,  pure oxygen can be used with similar results. An aeration system provides  safety in case there is a water supply malfunction, and also is valuable in  maintaining dissolved oxygen levels during short-term static chemical treatment  procedures for fish pathogens. D. Tube Net A nylon tube net (2.4 m long x .6 m wide with a 3 mm mesh)  equipped with handled hoops at each end is effective in capturing and removing  sturgeon from the holding tanks with a minimum of stress. It is helpful if the  tube net is dark in color to reduce the possibility of frightening the fish and  avoid any unnecessary stress. E. Stretcher A stretcher is used to hold fish during examination and  processing. The stretcher consists of smooth, nonabrasive, fiber-reinforced  nylon sheeting attached to two 2.4 m aluminum poles. It is capable of  supporting a fish at least 114.0 kg in weight. During examination of the fish,  the stretcher is supported on saw horses. The stretcher poles are placed in  notched racks installed on the saw horses in order to help restrain the fish's  movement by compressing the stretcher. The stretcher has a hood at one end that  covers the fish's head and serves as a respiration chamber when flooded with  water. During examination and egg and milt extraction, the fish is positioned  ventral side up with its head inside the hooded canopy. This canopy further  restrains the fish and positions the mouth to receive the water tube. F . Water Tube During broodstock examination and egg removal, a tygon  tubing ( 2.5 cm OD) is placed through the opening in the hood of the stretcher,  positioned in the fish's mouth, and water introduced through the tube. Care  must be taken to keep the tube in the fish's mouth and to maintain a constant  flow of water over the gills. **2. BROODSTOCK EVALUATION** A. Surgical Procedures 1 . Place fish on the stretcher, dorsal surface down, with  head positioned under the stretcher 's hood.
      2 . Place a water tube in the fish's mouth and monitor its  flow. Be watchful that the tube does not slip out of the mouth.
      3 . Position one person at the head of the stretcher  (responsible for monitoring the water tube) and one person at the tail end of  the stretcher. In the event the fish starts moving, these people can close the  handles of the stretcher and restrict movement.
      4. Wash the abdominal area with an approved antibacterial  solution.
      5. Use rubber gloves during the examination.
      6. Make a 1.0 cm incision on either the left or right side  of the ventral midline, a distance of the fourth ventral scute anterior to the  genital pore. Use a scalpel fitted with a size ten blade.
      7 . Using tissue forceps, enter the body cavity through the  incision and remove a small piece of tissue. Examine the tissue to determine  the sex of the fish (Surgical Examinations [from Conte et al., 1988]).  B. Males - Sex Determination Ripe males collected during the spawning period may have  free flowing milt, or milt may be expressed from the genital opening by gently  pressing on the posterior abdominal area of the fish. However, less than 10% of  males collected express milt and surgical examination is necessary in order to  verify sex. C. Males - Testes Classification The testes may be smooth, white to yellow in color, and may  have dark spots. Fat and testis tissue look similar. In order to distinguish  one from the other, place a small piece of the tissue in a vial of 4% formalin  -- fat tissue floats and testis tissue sinks. Tissue of a ripe male is creamy  white, and soft and greasy feeling when rubbed between the thumb and  forefinger. Unripe testes will have some dark pigmentation, yellow fat deposits,  and be firm to the touch. The condition of the testes determines the potential  for inducing the fish to spawn. Testes Classification (from Conte et al., 1988) Stage 0 - gonad apparent only as undifferentiated tissue;  Stage I - testes appear as a thin strip of tissue; Stage 2 - small testes, high  adipose content, some smokey pigmentation; Stage 3 - large testes, some adipose  lobes appearing, some pigmentation; Stage 4 - large, lobular white. Stages 0, 1, and 2 testes are immature, while Stage 3 testes  will produce sperm, but viability is often reduced. Stage 4 testes are mature.  D . Females - Sex Determination Ripe females may sometimes be distinguished from males by a  swollen abdomen and enlarged girth. The genital pore on females near spawning  may be swollen and purplish in color. Although males and females overlap in  size, fish in excess of 45 kg are usually females. They should be surgically  examined in order to verify sex and determine the developmental stage of the  ovaries. E. Determining Mature Ovaries - GV The ovary may be granular, white to yellowish to light gray,  and may have a "salt and pepper" appearance, or may have black  oocytes. If oocytes are black in color, remove some using 0. 5 m long tygon  tubing (4. 0 mm I.D.). Draw a small amount of Leibovitz (L-15) incubation media  or saline solution into the tube, and insert the tube into the egg mass. Remove  a minimum of 100 oocytes by aspiration and place the oocytes in enough  incubation media to cover the sample. The oocytes are examined for germinal  vesicle (GV) positioning using the following steps: F. Determining Mature Ovaries - GVBD 1. Remove 50 oocytes from the Leibovitz incubation medium  (prior to boiling sample) and divide the oocytes into two petri dishes containing  20.0 ml of Leibovitz incubation medium (take care not to add additional volume  of incubation medium to the dishes when transferring the oocytes).
      2. Add 0.2 ml of predissolved progesterone maturation  solution to each culture plate and gently mix (progesterone stock solution is  prepared by adding 10 mg to 10 ml of 100% ethyl alcohol).
      3. Incubate the samples for 24 hours at 15-16 C. No  agitation or special atmosphere is required.
      4. Determination of mature ovaries is based on the absence  of the germinal vesicle in the oocyte (germinal vesicle breakdown, or GVBD).  Suitable females would exhibit a GVBD between 80 to 100%. Females with a GVBD  below 80% would be questionable spawning candidates and fish exhibiting a GVBD  between 0 and 10% would not be ripe . G. Postsurgical Procedures The incision is sutured using a cruciate suture pattern. The  suture should not be tight in order to allow for some swelling. Use a curved,  OS-4 cutting surgical needle swedged with "Ethibond" green braided  polyester #1 gauge suture material for closing the incision. Wash the area with  an approved antibiotic solution and return the fish to the holding tank. DATA GAP: Anesthetics have not been administered to Gulf  sturgeon during surgical procedures. Although the fish lend themselves very  well to various examinations without being subject to anesthetics, there are  periods when the fish may become active, especially during oocyte removal, and  cause undue stress and possible injury to the fish and personnel involved in the  procedures. It is recommended that the use of approved anesthetics on sturgeon  be evaluated as a means to reduce handling stress, as well as maintaining the  fish in a relaxed state during surgical and egg removal procedures. In addition, it is sometimes difficult to interpret the  findings during a surgical evaluation of fish to determine its potential to  spawn. It is suggested that information such as color plates depicting the  various stages of reproductive tissue be developed for use in evaluating sturgeon  broodstock. 3. HORMONES A. Hormones Common carp pituitary (CCP) has been successfully used to  induce ovulation in Gulf sturgeon. Acetone-dried sturgeon pituitary and common  carp pituitary have been used to induce spermatogenesis in Gulf male sturgeon. B. Hormone (CCP) Preparation 1. Common carp pituitary should be stored in a refrigerator.
      2. It is convenient to pre-weigh the hormone in several  units (10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 mg) prior to mixing.
      3. The hormone mixture is prepared just prior to being used.
      4. Acetone-dried common carp pituitary is prepared by mixing  the powder form (CCP) in a carrier solution of 0.6 percent physiological  saline.
      5. The calculated amount of hormone for each dose is placed  in a tissue grinder and mixed with a minimum amount of saline carrier solution  (1.0-1.5 cc) necessary to obtain a uniform mixture (15-30 min).
      6. After the mixture is thoroughly combined, a syringe is  used to draw the prepared hormone from the tissue grinder.
      7. The shelf life of the prepared hormone is about one hour  at room temperature and should be administered immediately. DATA GAP: Common carp and Gulf sturgeon pituitaries were the  only hormone inducing agents administered to the Gulf sturgeon. Research should  be conducted on the use of other approved hormones for inducing ovulation or  enhancing the capacity to respond to the inducing hormone. The information that follows was located by the MTAN from  the following Internet Web address: http://www.epa.gov/indian/tribhand.htm  Tribal Environmental and Natural Resource Assistance  Handbook This handbook is intended to provide a central location for  federal sources of both technical and financial assistance available to Tribes  for environmental management. Many Tribes have limited environmental staffs that are faced  with the challenge of addressing a broad range of environmental issues. Unlike  State environmental programs that have received annual federal funding for many  years, Tribal environmental programs generally must compete annually for their  funds. With 554 federally recognized Tribes, there simply is not enough money  to go around. Therefore, Tribal environmental staffs spend a large part of  their time applying for grants and searching for sources of federal assistance.  This document is an effort to assist Tribal staff in their search and hopefully  save them valuable time. The handbook can also assist federal, regional, State  and Local government employees in becoming better informed about the sources of  environmental assistance available in order to improve customer service to the  Tribes.  New Fish Hatchery at Lac Du Flambeau **By: Larry Wawronowicz, Natural Resources Director, Lac du  Flambeau Reservation** The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake   Superior Chippewa Indians just completed building a new fish  hatchery. The 4,680 square foot building (65' x 72') replaced a hatchery that  was built in 1936 and hopefully the new one will be as successful. Physically,  the building consists of offices, crew room, shop/maintenance area, hatching  area, process room and mezzanine. The William J. Poupart, Sr. Tribal Fish  Hatchery was designed to hatch both cool water and cold water fish species by  utilizing 300 McDonald jars and 5 eight tray Heath incubators. There are 5-60  jar walleye/white sucker batteries along with 1-20 jar muskellunge battery.  Each battery flows into 6-7 foot diameter by 30 inch deep fry tanks which gives  us the capability to separate eggs fro different lakes or basins. The  muskellunge battery system was designed to maintain the hatching water at a  constant temperature by opening and closing warm water and cold water valves.  The hatchery has two water supplies. Well water is obtained from a 100 foot  well with a 12 inch casing with a pump capable of producing 900-1,000 gallons per  minute. Lake water is obtained from Pokegama   Lake by a 350 foot, 18  inch diameter water supply line that terminates with a slotted tee screen.  Three 1,200 gallon per minute pumps supply water to the hatchery, raceways and  ponds. The pumps are individually controlled by Allen-Bradley electronics that  can increase or decrease the rpm's of the pumps when there is an increase or  decrease in demand for water. The master control panel allows the hatchery crew  to observe were and how much water is distributed to each portion of the fish  culture facilities. An alarm system and automatic dialer is also part of the  master control panel which assists in providing the hatchery manager with 24  hour coverage. In addition to the fry tanks there are 6-5 foot diameter by 42  inch rearing tanks. Both the fry tanks and rearing tanks can receive well and  lake water. The facility has a Mezzanine which contains three head tanks (i.e.,  well, lake and heated), the 72 inch by 48 inch diameter by 5 micron drum  screen, boilers and heat exchanger. The head tanks gravity feeds water to all  rearing/fry tanks and hatching batteries and the drum screen filters the lake  water before being distributed. All solids greater then five microns are  removed. The drum screen cleans automatically and can be by-passed if filtered  water is not required. The heat exchanger warms the water for the muskellunge  battery and is controlled by the master control panel. The building was  designed to allow fish transport trucks and other vehicles to drive through to  fill with well or lake water, pick up or drop off fish. A 100KW Onan generator  and associated transfer switches supply emergency power during power failures.   **Return
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