April-june 2009
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service April-June 2009
Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter Current Events in Fish Production Extra Fish Anyone? During April and May, we distributed a total of 28,391 surplus rainbow trout to two hatcheries. Roaring River State Fish Hatchery received 18,415 trout and Spring River State Fish Hatchery from Arkansas received 9,976 trout.
These rainbow trout are ready to be stocked.
Lead Biologist Jaime Pacheco made a special trip to Blind Pony to assist in the spawning effort. The eggs from one female were divided and spawned with two different males. As the saying goes, hatchery staff try to avoid putting all of our eggs in one basket. So to apply it here, we split half of our pallid sturgeon eggs with Gavins Point NFH in South Dakota. In turn, Gavins Point has already given us a portion of their eggs and will share their pallid sturgeon fry with us. Blind Pony has also shared a portion of their eggs and fry with us. The goal of this strategy is to give these endangered fish optimum space and environmental conditions, and to provide a buffer in case anything should jeopardize the pallid sturgeon program at any individual station.
Because we will not need these fish to fulfill our annual commitment of 225,000 rainbows stocked into Lake Taneycomo, we can afford to share what we have. In addition, the space and food that would have gone toward these fish is now available to the 302,000+ rainbow trout already on station.
Sturgeon Spawning Begins The pallid sturgeon spawning period is off to a great start. Blind Pony State Fish Hatchery in Sweet Springs, MO spawned 4 females and 8 males. Finding this many sexually mature endangered pallid sturgeon could only have been possible through the cooperation of the entire Middle Basin Recovery Work Group. Assistant Manager Rod May and
Bruce Drecktrah and Jake Calhoun of Blind Pony State Fish Hatchery and Rod May from Neosho work together to extract sperm from a male adult pallid.
Finished Tagging the Pallid Juveniles! Two of our partners from the Middle Basin Pallid Sturgeon
Recovery Work Group visited our hatchery at the end of May to help us tag our two year classes of pallid sturgeon juveniles.
Rick Horton records data into our tagging program.
Staff from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission out of Lincoln, NE and Missouri Department of Conservation staff from Chillicothe, MO helped the Neosho staff PIT tag, remove scutes, and record valuable tagging data. Rick Horton and Blake Stephens from the local Neosho Missouri Department of Conservation office also volunteered their time to assist.
Some of the fantastic crew that assisted in tagging pallids from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Missouri Department of Conservation posed for a quick photo.
Their teamwork and efficient tagging greatly expedited our task of tagging over 3,100 fish. In fact, it is only because of their help that
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter we completed all tagging in just two days!
Returning Sturgeon to Their Native Habitat The most satisfying part about raising endangered fish is being able to put them back into their native habitat. This June, Neosho staff has been extremely busy travelling to and from stocking sites. Our juveniles from the 2007 year class were taken to Bellevue, NE, Sloan Landing, IA, and Mulberry Bend, NE. The fish from the 2008 year class were stocked at four sites in four different states: Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
April-June 2009
again in future mark-recapture studies.
Newsletter, came to us through this same job program.
Community Activities Annual Open House Despite the rainy weather, our annual open house on April 19th was a fantastic turn out! Tours were provided throughout the day and lunch, coffee and homemade cookies were served. Our open house coincided with the annual Dogwood Tour, a selfguided driven tour around Neosho that showcases dogwood trees in bloom. As part of our annual open house events, Missouri Department of Conservation succeeded in giving away 2,000 dogwood, redbud, and pine trees to the public. We are very appreciative of the Missouri Department of Conservation, our Friends of the Neosho National Fish Hatchery Group, the Master Gardeners Club, the Monett Bee Club, the Rock Specialist, Tim's educational snake booth, and the many others that volunteered their time and talents.
Josh Jennings, one of our interns helping out at the hatchery for the summer, was of great assistance during the FFA event at Seneca.
We are excited to have interns Josh Jennings, Michael Tascarella, and Sam Schenck helping us. With our two fishing derbies, busy hatchery tour schedule, and pallid sturgeon tagging and stocking programs all coinciding, we could not have gained more helpers at a better time.
More Helping Hands
These pallids are just about to be released into the Missouri River at Sloan Landing, IA.
These two-year old and one-year old fish are the biggest pallids that we have ever raised from fry and stocked! These juveniles averaged 13.7 and 12 inches in length, respectively. Previously, we have stocked our pallids at 9 inches. We hope the 3,291 total pallids that were stocked are seen
This is our first year to have interns through the Division of Youth Services Job Program. These interns typically work with us up to 3 months at a time and are funded by the state of Missouri. The internships are intended to match teens with a job experience of their interest. These interns can use the program to add experience to their resume, gain professional references, and hopefully, get inspired about a future career. Dylon Briley, previously introduced in the March
From left to right: Michael, Josh, and Sam attach hooks, sinkers, and bobbers to fishing poles during the Kid’s Fishing Derby.
A Whole Lot of Fishing! The last few weeks have been very busy as we kicked off our two annual fishing derbies and assisted Shepherd of the Hills State Fish Hatchery with their fishing Derby.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter
April-June 2009
A good number of people tried to fish before the rain really started pouring.
Liam Pacheco, Jaime Pacheco’s son caught his limit of 4 rainbow trout at the derby.
Our Kid’s Fishing Clinic and Derby took place on June 5th. Before letting the 150+ children between ages 8 to 12 fish, we shuffled them through five short, but important outdoor classes: boat safety, fire safety, casting, knot tying, and stream ecology. Lunch, plenty of water, fishing equipment and safety glasses were provided. The weather was fantastic and we owe much thanks to our many volunteers, Friends of Neosho National Fish Hatchery group, Missouri Department of Conservation staff and summer interns who came out to help. The very next day was the Kid’s Fishing Derby at Shepherd of the Hills State Fish Hatchery. Some of the Neosho staff travelled to Branson to set up an educational booth and assist our Missouri Department of Conservation partner wherever we could. They also had a great turn-out with over 190 children coming to fish and investigate the fun and educational activities that were planned for the day.
The Elderly and Handicapped Fishing Derby kicked off at almost 8am this year on June 12th. The rain did not deter about 100 elderly and handicapped visitors from fishing and enjoying the lunch and refreshments that were provided.
1909. Our long-term weather data is a valuable resource because our weather station is one of the oldest in the state and the weather station itself has been moved only once about 200 feet from its original location. You can read more about how our weather data is being used at: http://www.neoshodailynews.com /news/x726825001/Weatherservice-honors-hatchery. Our blog also has a link to this article. Check out www.neoshonfh.blogspot.com.
National Weather Service Recognizes 100 Years of Weather Data Collection Neosho National Fish Hatchery was awarded by the National Weather Service for 100 years of weather data collection. A modest ceremony was held at the hatchery followed by lunch.
Bill Davis, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Springfield, presents Dave Hendrix with an award.
Hatchery staff collect weather observations every morning, record high and low temperatures, and measure the amount of precipitation if any. This daily task has been relatively uninterrupted since October 1,
Interested in learning more about what we do? Visit our blog at www.NeoshoNFH.blogspot.com. Take a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what we do, keep updated on current events, and check out our links to additional information on the blog. Stop by for a tour at
520 E Park Street, Neosho, MO 64850, 417-451-0554.
Unless otherwise stated, articles are written and assembled by Melissa Cheung.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter
April-June 2009
Trying to Save the Future By Russell Hively Neosho Daily News Wed Jun 10, 2009, 01:04 PM CDT
In early May, biologists at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery had an opportunity that many fisheries people never get. They spawned an endangered species. Fish hatchery manager Dave Hendrix and assistant manager Rod May spawned a pallid sturgeon, an ancient fish which lives primarily in the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins. The pallid sturgeon is a relic of the dinosaur era that has lived in pre-historic rivers for about 70 million years. Pallid sturgeon can grow to be very large fish, up to eightyfive pounds at maturity, and they can live to be 100 years old. But their numbers began decreasing about 20 years ago. The pallid sturgeon is considered to be a good tasting fish, and the female's eggs have been too often sold and eaten as caviar. Changing habitat, over fishing, and harvesting females for caviar have lowered the populations, putting the pallid sturgeon on the endangered species list. The Neosho National Fish Hatchery and eleven other state and federal hatcheries are working to save this ancient fish from extinction. This year, a female pallid from the Missouri River was spawned at the local hatchery. Spawning this ancient fish is not a simple matter. First, wild fish must be caught in the Missouri River. Then each fish must be checked to see if it is genetically a pallid sturgeon, as they will cross breed with other sturgeon. Then the females must be checked to see if they will produce eggs this season. They usually only have mature eggs every other year. Then a mature male has to be located. After all the tests and careful observation were made, the male and female at Neosho were determined to be ready for spawning. The male is caught and a sample of sperm removed. Scientific work with the female is much more complicated. The general process is to take the eggs from the female and then blend in sperm from the male to fertilize the eggs. Taking eggs from the female is time consuming as handlers "milk" her every hour until all the eggs are taken.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter
April-June 2009
Blending the eggs and sperm is done in a container and, at the Neosho hatchery, the blending is done with a turkey feather. This is an old method that is still popular with fisheries experts. There are other more modern ways to blend the eggs and sperm, but Hendrix and May are comfortable with the old turkey feather method. Eventually the eggs are placed in a hatching jar and then it's just a matter of waiting for the hatch. The spawning was deemed a success. The last of the eggs were extracted about 4 p.m., and the following day, the nucleus had already divided, meaning the fertilization had been successful. Now, the two "expectant fathers," Dave Hendrix and Rod May, are just waiting for the babies. Much time is required in the process of spawning pallid sturgeon. This work is being done at several hatcheries, all in an effort to save an endangered species—the ancient pallid sturgeon. Preserving endangered species is a high priority in America because the old native species of plants, animals and fish are barometers of our natural resources. The introduction of non-native species into our fields and streams has often led to disaster. Millions of dollars and millions of man hours are spent each year to get rid of invasive species that have come to America and caused damage and destruction. Native plants and animals are better for the nation, and efforts to preserve them are worth all the time and trouble it takes to prevent their extinction and have them still around in the future.
Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter Current Events in Fish Production Extra Fish Anyone? During April and May, we distributed a total of 28,391 surplus rainbow trout to two hatcheries. Roaring River State Fish Hatchery received 18,415 trout and Spring River State Fish Hatchery from Arkansas received 9,976 trout.
These rainbow trout are ready to be stocked.
Lead Biologist Jaime Pacheco made a special trip to Blind Pony to assist in the spawning effort. The eggs from one female were divided and spawned with two different males. As the saying goes, hatchery staff try to avoid putting all of our eggs in one basket. So to apply it here, we split half of our pallid sturgeon eggs with Gavins Point NFH in South Dakota. In turn, Gavins Point has already given us a portion of their eggs and will share their pallid sturgeon fry with us. Blind Pony has also shared a portion of their eggs and fry with us. The goal of this strategy is to give these endangered fish optimum space and environmental conditions, and to provide a buffer in case anything should jeopardize the pallid sturgeon program at any individual station.
Because we will not need these fish to fulfill our annual commitment of 225,000 rainbows stocked into Lake Taneycomo, we can afford to share what we have. In addition, the space and food that would have gone toward these fish is now available to the 302,000+ rainbow trout already on station.
Sturgeon Spawning Begins The pallid sturgeon spawning period is off to a great start. Blind Pony State Fish Hatchery in Sweet Springs, MO spawned 4 females and 8 males. Finding this many sexually mature endangered pallid sturgeon could only have been possible through the cooperation of the entire Middle Basin Recovery Work Group. Assistant Manager Rod May and
Bruce Drecktrah and Jake Calhoun of Blind Pony State Fish Hatchery and Rod May from Neosho work together to extract sperm from a male adult pallid.
Finished Tagging the Pallid Juveniles! Two of our partners from the Middle Basin Pallid Sturgeon
Recovery Work Group visited our hatchery at the end of May to help us tag our two year classes of pallid sturgeon juveniles.
Rick Horton records data into our tagging program.
Staff from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission out of Lincoln, NE and Missouri Department of Conservation staff from Chillicothe, MO helped the Neosho staff PIT tag, remove scutes, and record valuable tagging data. Rick Horton and Blake Stephens from the local Neosho Missouri Department of Conservation office also volunteered their time to assist.
Some of the fantastic crew that assisted in tagging pallids from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Missouri Department of Conservation posed for a quick photo.
Their teamwork and efficient tagging greatly expedited our task of tagging over 3,100 fish. In fact, it is only because of their help that
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter we completed all tagging in just two days!
Returning Sturgeon to Their Native Habitat The most satisfying part about raising endangered fish is being able to put them back into their native habitat. This June, Neosho staff has been extremely busy travelling to and from stocking sites. Our juveniles from the 2007 year class were taken to Bellevue, NE, Sloan Landing, IA, and Mulberry Bend, NE. The fish from the 2008 year class were stocked at four sites in four different states: Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
April-June 2009
again in future mark-recapture studies.
Newsletter, came to us through this same job program.
Community Activities Annual Open House Despite the rainy weather, our annual open house on April 19th was a fantastic turn out! Tours were provided throughout the day and lunch, coffee and homemade cookies were served. Our open house coincided with the annual Dogwood Tour, a selfguided driven tour around Neosho that showcases dogwood trees in bloom. As part of our annual open house events, Missouri Department of Conservation succeeded in giving away 2,000 dogwood, redbud, and pine trees to the public. We are very appreciative of the Missouri Department of Conservation, our Friends of the Neosho National Fish Hatchery Group, the Master Gardeners Club, the Monett Bee Club, the Rock Specialist, Tim's educational snake booth, and the many others that volunteered their time and talents.
Josh Jennings, one of our interns helping out at the hatchery for the summer, was of great assistance during the FFA event at Seneca.
We are excited to have interns Josh Jennings, Michael Tascarella, and Sam Schenck helping us. With our two fishing derbies, busy hatchery tour schedule, and pallid sturgeon tagging and stocking programs all coinciding, we could not have gained more helpers at a better time.
More Helping Hands
These pallids are just about to be released into the Missouri River at Sloan Landing, IA.
These two-year old and one-year old fish are the biggest pallids that we have ever raised from fry and stocked! These juveniles averaged 13.7 and 12 inches in length, respectively. Previously, we have stocked our pallids at 9 inches. We hope the 3,291 total pallids that were stocked are seen
This is our first year to have interns through the Division of Youth Services Job Program. These interns typically work with us up to 3 months at a time and are funded by the state of Missouri. The internships are intended to match teens with a job experience of their interest. These interns can use the program to add experience to their resume, gain professional references, and hopefully, get inspired about a future career. Dylon Briley, previously introduced in the March
From left to right: Michael, Josh, and Sam attach hooks, sinkers, and bobbers to fishing poles during the Kid’s Fishing Derby.
A Whole Lot of Fishing! The last few weeks have been very busy as we kicked off our two annual fishing derbies and assisted Shepherd of the Hills State Fish Hatchery with their fishing Derby.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter
April-June 2009
A good number of people tried to fish before the rain really started pouring.
Liam Pacheco, Jaime Pacheco’s son caught his limit of 4 rainbow trout at the derby.
Our Kid’s Fishing Clinic and Derby took place on June 5th. Before letting the 150+ children between ages 8 to 12 fish, we shuffled them through five short, but important outdoor classes: boat safety, fire safety, casting, knot tying, and stream ecology. Lunch, plenty of water, fishing equipment and safety glasses were provided. The weather was fantastic and we owe much thanks to our many volunteers, Friends of Neosho National Fish Hatchery group, Missouri Department of Conservation staff and summer interns who came out to help. The very next day was the Kid’s Fishing Derby at Shepherd of the Hills State Fish Hatchery. Some of the Neosho staff travelled to Branson to set up an educational booth and assist our Missouri Department of Conservation partner wherever we could. They also had a great turn-out with over 190 children coming to fish and investigate the fun and educational activities that were planned for the day.
The Elderly and Handicapped Fishing Derby kicked off at almost 8am this year on June 12th. The rain did not deter about 100 elderly and handicapped visitors from fishing and enjoying the lunch and refreshments that were provided.
1909. Our long-term weather data is a valuable resource because our weather station is one of the oldest in the state and the weather station itself has been moved only once about 200 feet from its original location. You can read more about how our weather data is being used at: http://www.neoshodailynews.com /news/x726825001/Weatherservice-honors-hatchery. Our blog also has a link to this article. Check out www.neoshonfh.blogspot.com.
National Weather Service Recognizes 100 Years of Weather Data Collection Neosho National Fish Hatchery was awarded by the National Weather Service for 100 years of weather data collection. A modest ceremony was held at the hatchery followed by lunch.
Bill Davis, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Springfield, presents Dave Hendrix with an award.
Hatchery staff collect weather observations every morning, record high and low temperatures, and measure the amount of precipitation if any. This daily task has been relatively uninterrupted since October 1,
Interested in learning more about what we do? Visit our blog at www.NeoshoNFH.blogspot.com. Take a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what we do, keep updated on current events, and check out our links to additional information on the blog. Stop by for a tour at
520 E Park Street, Neosho, MO 64850, 417-451-0554.
Unless otherwise stated, articles are written and assembled by Melissa Cheung.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter
April-June 2009
Trying to Save the Future By Russell Hively Neosho Daily News Wed Jun 10, 2009, 01:04 PM CDT
In early May, biologists at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery had an opportunity that many fisheries people never get. They spawned an endangered species. Fish hatchery manager Dave Hendrix and assistant manager Rod May spawned a pallid sturgeon, an ancient fish which lives primarily in the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins. The pallid sturgeon is a relic of the dinosaur era that has lived in pre-historic rivers for about 70 million years. Pallid sturgeon can grow to be very large fish, up to eightyfive pounds at maturity, and they can live to be 100 years old. But their numbers began decreasing about 20 years ago. The pallid sturgeon is considered to be a good tasting fish, and the female's eggs have been too often sold and eaten as caviar. Changing habitat, over fishing, and harvesting females for caviar have lowered the populations, putting the pallid sturgeon on the endangered species list. The Neosho National Fish Hatchery and eleven other state and federal hatcheries are working to save this ancient fish from extinction. This year, a female pallid from the Missouri River was spawned at the local hatchery. Spawning this ancient fish is not a simple matter. First, wild fish must be caught in the Missouri River. Then each fish must be checked to see if it is genetically a pallid sturgeon, as they will cross breed with other sturgeon. Then the females must be checked to see if they will produce eggs this season. They usually only have mature eggs every other year. Then a mature male has to be located. After all the tests and careful observation were made, the male and female at Neosho were determined to be ready for spawning. The male is caught and a sample of sperm removed. Scientific work with the female is much more complicated. The general process is to take the eggs from the female and then blend in sperm from the male to fertilize the eggs. Taking eggs from the female is time consuming as handlers "milk" her every hour until all the eggs are taken.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Neosho National Fish Hatchery Newsletter
April-June 2009
Blending the eggs and sperm is done in a container and, at the Neosho hatchery, the blending is done with a turkey feather. This is an old method that is still popular with fisheries experts. There are other more modern ways to blend the eggs and sperm, but Hendrix and May are comfortable with the old turkey feather method. Eventually the eggs are placed in a hatching jar and then it's just a matter of waiting for the hatch. The spawning was deemed a success. The last of the eggs were extracted about 4 p.m., and the following day, the nucleus had already divided, meaning the fertilization had been successful. Now, the two "expectant fathers," Dave Hendrix and Rod May, are just waiting for the babies. Much time is required in the process of spawning pallid sturgeon. This work is being done at several hatcheries, all in an effort to save an endangered species—the ancient pallid sturgeon. Preserving endangered species is a high priority in America because the old native species of plants, animals and fish are barometers of our natural resources. The introduction of non-native species into our fields and streams has often led to disaster. Millions of dollars and millions of man hours are spent each year to get rid of invasive species that have come to America and caused damage and destruction. Native plants and animals are better for the nation, and efforts to preserve them are worth all the time and trouble it takes to prevent their extinction and have them still around in the future.
