During peak spawning periods, hatchery staff collects more than a million microscopic eggs per night from selected broodfish tanks. The collected eggs are quickly measured by volume for an approximate count and then transferred to incubation tanks. Eggs generally hatch within 36 hours of collection. The fry are moved to 36 acres of grow-out ponds at Sea Center until they grow into juvenile fish, or fingerlings. At about 1.25 inches long, fingerlings have a stronger survival rate once released into coastal waters.
Survival equals angling opportunity.
Officials credit the increase in activity to higher fish populations. In the upper Laguna Madre, the catch rate jumped from 0.4 per hour to 0.9 fish per hour and a lot of that can be attributed to stocking. McEachron also noted that seatrout numbers were at their highest level coast- wide since TPW began sampling in 1977 and have remained so over the last three years. Another measure is to ensure freshwater inflows into our coastal estuaries are protected and that's one of the objectives of Senate Bill 1. Implementation of this legislation is crucial if we are to maintain these highly productive fish and shellfish breeding grounds sustained by a balance between fresh and salt water where rivers meet the sea.