Hatchery Re-Opening a Year Away

Re-opening of the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery is still more than a year away. Tracy Copeland, manager of the hatchery at the base of Kinzua Dam, says $1.2 million is needed for construction of an aeration tower for the hatchery's water supply. Congress must appropriate an estimated $1.2 million to cover the construction costs. Assuming that Congress adopts a budget by Oct. 1 and the money for the hatchery is included, Copeland said that groundbreaking for the tower could begin this fall and construction will take about a year to complete. The hatchery's entire population of fish was virtually wiped out by two incidents in 2005. In May, a power failure at the hatchery resulted in the loss of up to 300,000 trout fingerlings. In September, lake and brook trout tested positive for the fish virus infectious pancreatic necrosis. The hatchery's entire population of 720,000 juvenile lake, brook and rainbow trout and 2,500 lake brooder fish and 230,000 lake trout eggs was either destroyed or given to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.