U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
White Sulphur
DITITUS
National Fish
Hatchery
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
LigPARIES
JAN 2 3 2004
DEPOSITED BY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

White Sulphur Established in 1900, White Sulphur
Springs National Springs National Fish Hatchery
Fish Hatchery (WSSNFH) is operated by the Dept.
of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. WSSNFH has produced
Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bluegill,
and Largemouth Bass but is now
home only to Rainbow Trout
broodstock and freshwater mussels.
As one of 65 federally owned fish
hatcheries in the United States,
WSSNFH is one of three primary
broodstock stations in the country for
the production of Rainbow Trout.
º
- a
Annual fishing derby sponsored by WSSNFH and the
WSS Rotary Club.
Rainbow Trout WSSNFH produces 9 million eyed
Rainbow trout eggs annually. These
eggs are shipped nationwide to
federal, state, and tribal hatcheries.
Several thousand eggs are retained
each year to serve as future brood
stock. After two years the broodstock
begin producing eggs. Hatchery
personnel artificially spawn two and
three year old rainbow trout. After
Spawning, spent fish are stocked in
streams and lakes by the West
Virginia Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) and the Virginia
Department of Game and Inland
Fisheries.

Freshwater
Mussels
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WSSNFH.
In addition to operating as a
broodstock facility, WSSNFH began
holding freshwater mussels from the
Ohio River drainage in 1995.
Freshwater mussels play an important
role in maintaining healthy streams.
They act as indicators of poor water
quality, provide food for animals such
as muskrats and raccoons, and filter
the water in which they live. They are
one of the few organisms on the planet
that actually “clean up after
themselves”. Each freshwater mussel
is equipped with very large gills,
which they use to filter oxygen and
food from the water. Where they are
abundant, these filter-feeders can
filter 10's of 10000's of gallons per day,
providing clean water and suitable
habitat for other species. One third of
the 300 mussel species in North
America are found in the Ohio and
Tennessee River watersheds.
However, threats such as Zebra
mussels, habitat loss, and poor water
quality have led to serious declines in
70% of North American mussel
species. As mussel populations decline,
the quality of their habitat degrades
even further. A nation-wide
conservation effort of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service includes the
relocation, culture, and propagation of
mussel species for stock enhancement
of native Streams. WSSNFH is
working together with Virginia Tech,
West Virginia DNR, and others to
protect and restore freshwater
mussels, which will create healthy
stream ecosystems.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRING;
|Al FISHHHCHHH! –
Visitors Center Open 7AM to 3:30PM, daily from
Memorial Day through Labor Day.
[1] Four aquariums can be viewed as well
as displays of the Rainbow Trout life
cycle and freshwater mussels.
Restrooms are available.
Display Pool Contains Rainbow trout aged 3 to 8
years. Notice the difference between
[2] the male and female fish. Males tend
to be darker in color after reaching
sexual maturity. Their heads are
pointed and there is the presence of a
hook in the lower jaw, which is also
known as a kype. Female trout have a
broader shaped body and head along
with brighter silver color and a more
pronounced rainbow band extending
laterally across the body.

"California" This series of three earthen bottom
Raceways raceways below the concrete
raceways also serves as a place to put
3. spent brood fish. The earthen bottom
provides a more natural environment
where spent fish occasionally form
nests. Fish nests are called redds and
consist of a depression a female trout
makes on the bottom before she
deposits her eggs. This is where the
female would lay her eggs to incubate
in the wild.
Raceways Each of the 10 concrete raceways can
hold 1,000 brood fish weighing 2.5-
2 [4] 3.0 pounds. The top 2 raceways hold
juvenile trout, which will be used for
spawning the following year. The
lower 8 raceways hold broodstock for
this year's egg production. Oxygen is
added to the water as it cascades from
one raceway to the next. There are
two oxygen injection systems at the
head of each raceway building which
provide a constant source of oxygen to
the trout even in low water. As the
water passes through the raceways
the trout remove oxygen from the
water by breathing and add carbon
dioxide and other metabolic waste
products. Fish breathe the dissolved
oxygen through their gills.
.
An elementary school group takes a tour of the hatchery.
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White Sulphur Springs
National Fish Hathery
Self Guided Tour
[P. Visitor Parking
(1) Visitor Center
(2) Display Pool
3. California Raceways
[4] Raceways
(5) Earthen Ponds
6. Broodstock Building
LEGEND
Storage Building
3. Incubation Room
[9] Food Storage Room
[10] Hatchery Building
1. Freshwater Mussel Facility
12 Truck Disinfection Building
T
Earthen Ponds
You will notice that one of the ponds .
holds freshwater mussels. In 1995 the }
WSSNFH began holding adult
freshwater mussels obtained from the |
Ohio River as well as tributaries to º
the Ohio River watershed. This was
done in response to the massive
invasion of the nonnative zebra
mussel, which is an exotic species.
Zebra mussels multiply in great
quantity and attach themselves to just
about any surface. They clog up drain
pipes and water intake lines,
attaching to boats as well as the
hundreds of species of mussels native
to the Ohio River. Attached Zebra
mussels can prevent native
freshwater mussels from opening
their shells to feed which often leads
to starvation. WSSNFH is working
with Virginia Tech and West Virginia
Division of Natural Resources to
determine how best to hold
freshwater mussels in captivity,
produce young, and reintroduce
young mussels to the wild.




Broodstock
Building
Storage Building
(No Admittance)
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Incubation Room
This building contains 2 year classes
of rainbow trout. There are 12
concrete raceways that have channels
between them for transferring fish
between raceways without risking
injury to the fish. Two of the raceways
hold juvenile fish to be spawned the
following year. The other 10 raceways
hold present year adult broodstock.
This building is used to store vehicles,
tractors and fish culture equipment.
Here, with the use of special
equipment for maintaining proper
conditions, hatching trout eggs are
incubated, sorted and counted. The
newly spawned green eggs are placed
in incubator drawers with running
water. Eggs are incubated for 21 to 25
days before they are “eyed up”. The
“eyed eggs” are then shipped to other
hatcheries for restoration, recreation,
and management purposes.
A ripe female trout is stripped of her
eggs for spawning.
f
:

One male trout is used to fertilize
Food Storage
Room
eggs of one female trout.
Trout feed is purchased on a quarterly
basis in 50-pound bags, which are
stored in this room. Newly hatched
fry live off their yolk sac, which is
attached to their abdomen and
provides nourishment for about 3
weeks until it is absorbed and they
are strong enough to feed. Fry are fed
a mashed diet, which is very fine. As
fish grow larger in size the feed sizes
increase. Approximately 1.5 pounds of
food are needed to produce 1 pound of
trout. A typical diet will contain
soybean or fishmeal, fish oils, cereal
products and a specifically formulated
vitamin package. Many other
ingredients may also be used in
formulating trout diets. Young fry are
fed continually throughout the day
because their stomachs are not large
enough to take in the amount of food
needed to last all day. As they grow,
the number of feedings per day
decreases while the portion sizes
increase until the trout are six inches
in length and are living on 2 feedings
per day.



Biologists check the reproductive status of mussels.
Hatchery
Building
10
Freshwater
Mussel Facility
This building houses the offices, a
laboratory and a tank room
containing twelve small rearing tanks.
Tanks are used to rear juvenile fish
from the time they hatch out until
they are 4 inches in length and 30 fish
to the pound. The fish are then
transferred to the outside raceways
where they will stay until they are 2
years old and ready to spawn.
This building was constructed in
2002. The facility is designed to focus
efforts on fresh water mussel
restoration and recovery within the
Tennessee and Ohio River drainages.
Biologists take tissue samples for
monitoring health.




Truck
Disinfecting
Building
Hatchery Hours
Group Tours
Area
Recreational
Activities
Camping
This building is used to disinfect fish
hauling trucks before they are
allowed on hatchery grounds to pick
up fish. The process takes 1 to 2
hours.
7:00AM - 3:30PM Monday-Friday
All facilities closed on weekends;
Grounds open dawn 'til dusk.
Fish can be viewed from outside the
chains in the lower raceways (4), at
the viewing windows in the
broodstock building (6), outside of the
chain link fence at the California
raceways (3). Mussels can be viewed
from outside the chain link fence in
earthen pond (5A).
Group tours may be arranged in
advance with the office manager.
Monongahela, George Washington
and Jefferson National forests are all
in the local area. The Greenbrier and
the New rivers provide excellent
opportunities for warm water fishing.
There also are many small mountain
streams that provide fine trout
fishing. The New, Gauley, and Cheat
rivers provide some of this country's
best white water rafting
opportunities.
Area campgrounds include Blue Bend
and Sherwood Lake camping areas
operated by the U.S. Forest Service,
as well as the Greenbrier State
Forest.
White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery
100 East Main Street
White Sulphur Springs, WV 24986
304/536 1361
304/536 4634. Fax
Federal Relay Service
for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
1800/877 8339
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1800/344 WILD
http://www.ſws.gov
September 2003
. III. |
Rainbow trout
USFWS