Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-05-08
FISH HATCHER|ES
ARE INTERESTING
Some Things About the Bureau Of
Fisheries Which Many do Not
Know.

l liE DNGEdu vi r lHIEItES- IUEX nave
all heard of Bryans Point and Hayre
de Grace. Every spring a number OF
Berkeley county boys 90 to one or the
4 other OF these places for several
weeks to help during spawning season.
4 A number OF Mr. Bowers friends are
4 annually invited to plank shad din
ner which takes place at the hatch
4 cries at organs Point. Nearly every
one here is familiar with these facts
but they know very little about the
workings of the bureau at the two
hatcherias.
At Bryn's Point which is directly
across the Potomac river from Mount
Vernon, and at Battery Island, near
Hayre de Grace, the Bureau OF Fish
cries Of the United States government
maintains large plants where white
and yellow perch, and shad later in
the season, are Matched from their
eggs, which their employees take from
the living fish, in the spawning season
and hatch out into millions of live
fish without injuring the mother fish
| in any way.
When the fish Matched at these
places are large enough to take care
of themselves, they are SHIPPED in tanks
to all parts OF the country, after a
large percentage Of them have been
turnd loose in the waters of the Po-
tomac and Susquehanna, to provide
food fer their markets in the coming
season. The season for Matching the
eggs of the yellow perch closed a
short time ago and at the two stations
named 225 100000 eggs were Matched
into rigging, shining healthy young
1 perch ready to be shipped all over the
country in appropriate cars by the
Bureau OF Fisheries. All this work on
the yellow perch was accomplished
during two months and half.
The Bureau OF FISHERIES is part OF
the Department of Commerce and
| Labor. and is managed by Commits
sioner George NJ. Bowers, of this city,
I who has been responsible for the i'm
portant work Of conservation, for nine
years. The department of fish Gull
ture of the bureau which controls the
procuring and Matching of the eggs in
numerous stations, has for it's chief,
]. w Titcomb. who is said TO be the
best informed fish culturist in the
country. Under his direction are 60
stations where fish are Matched. From
each hatchery daily report is re-
csived of the number of eggs received
and Matched, the number OF the young
fish ready to be turned loose in rivers
and streams Each hatchery, natural
ly propaga es the kind of fish indigen;
Gus to the rivers and streams In its
section of the country.
Those desiring fish to stock their
ponds can obtain a supply by notifying
their representatives IN Congress. The
! process of taking the eggs from the
live fish and Matching them is most
! interesting.
The hatcheries are large roomy
buildings, filled with tables upon
| two rows of jars on each table, with
/ trough between them from which
water drips into the jars. There are
no fish in sight, but in the jars there
is a peculiar looking mass floating
along in the water. It is spawn and it
takes between two and three weeks
until these eggs are Matched out.
When examined closely the spawn
looks like small globules OF gelatine.
Each jar holds from 900 to 10000
eggs that will hatch into fish.
These eggs are not counted. but it
is known how many eggs there are in
a quart, and how many quarts are
| Matched out The total number of
yellow perch eggs. Matched this season
is about 137,0O0,000 These eggs are
kept in constantly running water and
at the right temperature.
The taking of the spawn is one of
the most interesting phases of the
work Regular spawn takers are EN-
! ployed, who go from boat to boat of
the river fishermen and purchase the
spawn which they have expelled from
their catch, at regulated price-if
the desired spawn be that of white
perch or shad. The yellow perch are
caught direct from the water and
placed in live boxes in the little creek
couple of hundred yards from the
hatchery building. After the spawn
is obtained the fish are turned loose
again,
At regular intervals each live box
is opened and the spawn takers dip
out the spawn with small wire dip
per nets made for that purpose. Each
box is fairly alive with perch-both
female and buck. In the box the fe-
male, at the suitable period in her
spawning, deposits her spawn or roe,
in the water The eggs float to the
surface OF the water and the spawn
taker dips them out and carries them
TO the hatchery. where they are
placed in the glass jars and Matched
This is known as the "wet" process
Lee