First Trout Hatcheries in Virginia, by Don Orth

By the 1870’s Virginians were aware of the great depletion of major food fisheries due to overfishing and multiple dams blocking fish runs.  The Virginia Assembly created the office of the Virginia Fish Commissioner in March 1871 to evaluate Virginia’s commercial fisheries and make recommendations for restoration.  One of the main strategies was artificial propagation.  William Ball was the first fish commissioner of Virginia and focused efforts to propagate and release shad, black bass, and trout. In 1894, the Virginia Commissioner of Fisheries wrote “the question of greatest importance to our fishermen is the appalling decline in the number of the free migratory fishes that annually visit the waters of the State.”  (Wilkins 1894). This effort was parallel to efforts in other states as well as the federal government, which established the Commission of Fisheries in 1871, to examine depletion of fisheries in the nation.  Seth Green, the father of fish culture, opened the Caledonia Hatchery in 1864 and the race to build hatcheries was on.  The first hatcheries in Virginia did not raise shad or striped bass.  First hatcheries to propagate these fishes were at Fort Washington and Fishing Battery Island (Maryland) and Albemarle Sound at Edenton, North Carolina.  

Marshall McDonald was Virginia Fish Commissioner 1875-1888 and U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries from 1888 to 1895.   Photo Source. 

Marshall McDonald played a key role in Virginia fisheries restoration during this time.  McDonald was a Professor at Virginia Military Institute before and after his military career during the Civil War. He was chair of Geology at Virginia Military Institute when he developed an interest in fish farming. He filed a patent for a new fishway design in 1879, which he sold to the state of Virginia in 1880. He also invented a hatching bucket for hatching eggs of pelagic fishes.  As Fish Commissioner of Virginia, Marshall McDonald began construction of the Lexington hatchery on the Town Branch spring in 1875 (The Advocate 2006). This hatchery and one managed in Blacksburg by Professor Mason G. Ellzey, Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, would train students in the art of pisciculture.  California salmon eggs (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were hatched in these hatcheries in 1876 and yielded salmon fry released in the tributaries of the James and Roanoke drainages.  The Virginia Fish Commission (1877, p. 56) reported that the two hatcheries were “doing good work” although they were compelled to buy trout eggs.  However, the California salmon released never returned and efforts to propagate salmon in Virginia ceased.  The Lexington hatchery closed in 1880 and I could find no historical records about the longevity of the Blacksburg hatchery.    

McDonald Fishway with Water Shut Off, in Great Falls of the Potomac, 1898. Public Domain.

Marshall McDonald traveled to Wytheville, Virginia in August, 1879 to select a location for a fish hatchery.  This new trout hatchery was built on 3 ½ acres of land donated by S.P. Browning (Chitwood 1989). The location 3.5 miles west of Wytheville, off Old Stage Road, was ideal with two springs that produced 1,100 gallons per minute and was directly on the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad line (later Norfolk & Western).  It was in operation by November and was operated by the U.S. Fish Commission in 1882 and completed in 1888. At the time there were twelve rearing ponds for trout, piping to ponds, a retaining wall on Tate’s Run, and a two-story building for rearing troughs.   The Wytheville hatchery raised the McCloud strain of Rainbow Trout from eggs shipped from the federal hatchery on the McCloud River.   

Wytheville hatchery layout circa 1886. (McDonald 1889).

Water supply and brood fish ponds at Wytheville hatchery, circa 1886. 

From annual reports of the U.S. Fish Commission we find that “In the spring of 1885 about 300 grayling were hatched from eggs collected from wild fish in the streams of Michigan by Mr. F. N. Clark and forwarded to Wytheville.  These 300 fish are being kept for breeders, and at the close of the year were in fine condition.”  (U.S. Fish Commissioner.  1887 Page ixxxii).  Further, stocking of Rainbow trout to the headwaters of the Shenandoah River in Augusta county and tributaries of Potomac in Maryland as well as ponds in Maryland, SW Virginia and Tennessee occurred in 1886 (U.S. Fish Commissioner.  1887.  Page ixxxv)  

Hatchery troughs at the Wytheville hatchery, circa 1886. (McDonald 1889).

Hatchery trout plan view for Wytheville hatchery. (McDonald 1889).

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887, McDonald (1889, p 4-5) reported receiving Rainbow Trout from California, Brook Trout from Michigan, Brown Trout from New York, Atlantic Salmon from Maine, Common Carp from Washington, D.C. and Rock Bass and Smallmouth Bass collected locally from New River and Reed Creek.   The Atlantic Salmon were stocked in a tributary of the Shenandoah River near Staunton and South Fork of Shenandoah River near Waynesboro. 

The first superintendent of the Wytheville Hatchery was William E. Page of Lynchburg, and he was soon succeeded by George A. Seagle, a native of Wythe County.  Seagle invented the Seagle shipping box for transporting trout fry long distances. Seagle was succeeded in 1922 by Charles B. Grater of Leadville, Colorado, who served until 1930.  In 1930, Samuel A. “Gus” Scott became the fourth hatchery manager (Chitwood 1989).  Under Scott’s management the Wytheville, hatchery produced 20,000 to 25,000 pounds of fish annually, mainly Rainbow Trout, bass, and bream.  

Satellite view of hatchery, now operated as Brakens Fish Hatchery.  photo (c) Google Maps 2019.

This historic hatchery operated until 1968, after a new facility was opened on Reed Creek.  The hatchery was donated to Wytheville Community College for use in biology classes.  In 1987, it was purchased by Dale Bracken who restored the hatchery, which now operates as Brakens Fish Hatchery for recreational fishing. 

Brook Trout. Photo by Steve Droter. CC BY-NC-2.0  Source. 

Approximately 100,000 anglers fish for stocked trout in Virginia waters and their fishing satisfaction depends on annual stocking of catchable-size trout.  Wild trout occur in over 2,300 miles of coldwater streams in the Commonwealth and native Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis thrive only in higher-elevation mountain streams.  Five trout hatcheries operate to produce stocked trout in Virginia.  These include stations at Marion (Smyth Co.), Montebello (Nelson Co.), Coursey Springs (Bath Co.), Paint Bank (Craig Co.), and Wytheville (Wythe Co.).  Trout hatcheries are open to the public to tour and learn more about the propagation of trout.  Teachers can connect students to local watersheds with Trout Unlimited's Trout in the Classroom program, which raises trout from egg to the fry stage for stocking.  

References

Chitwood, W.R. 1989.  The old Wytheville fish hatchery.  The Mountain Laurel the Journal of Mountain Life.  September   

U.S. Fish Commissioner.  1887. Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor for 1885. U.S. Bureau of Fisheries    Washington Government Printing Office 1887. 

McDonald, Marshall. United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 1889. Report of Operations at the Wytheville Station, Virginia, from January 1, 1885 to June 30, 1887. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.

McHugh, J.L., and R. S. Bailey. 1957. History of Virginia’s commercial fisheries. The Virginia Journal of Sciences 8(1):42-64. 

The Advocate. 2006.  Salmon in the Maury? It wasn’t just a fish tale. The Rockbridge Advocate. December 2006.  49-54. 

Virginia Fish Commission. 1877.  Annual Report of the Fish Commissioner of the State of Virginia.  

Wilkins, J.T., Jr. 1894. The Fisheries of the Virginia Coast. In House Misc. Doc., 53rd. Congress, 2nd Session, Vol. 20, Bull, U.S. Fish Comm., for 1893: 355-356. Cited in McHugh and Bailey 1957.

How Many Species of Snakehead Fishes are in the USA? by Don Orth

The summer of 2002 was the summer of the snakehead — the first exposure with these exotic fishes for many of us.  It began with the first appearance of the Northern Snakehead Channa argus in a small pond in Crofton, Maryland.   Snakehead fishes are air-breathing freshwater fishes in the family Channidae. The genus Channa includes snakeheads of Asia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and the genus Parachanna occur in Africa. In their native range, they are important food fish. Elsewhere, snakeheads are popular in live food fish and aquarium trades and many species are cultured for food.  Recently sport fishing for snakeheads has grown in popularity. After the establishment of the Northern Snakehead in the Potomac River, it spread to other tributaries of Chesapeake Bay and scientists are concerned about its potential to spread into all the Great Lakes except Superior (Kramer et al. 2017; Love and Newhard 2018).  In all habitats it colonizes, scientists will need to evaluate its potential to threaten native fishes, the recreational fishing industry, and aquatic ecosystems, all of which will cost time and money.

Top Ten Little Known Facts about the Snakehead Fish. 

(The Late Show with David Letterman, Dolin 2003).

10.       The fish is 50 percent snake, 50 percent head. 

9.         Mortal enemy is the fishhead snake.

8.         High-protein diet of fish and frogs means slim look for summer. 

7.         They love kids.

6.         Bush promised to find and catch them…of course we’ve heard that before. 

5.         Fans of the snakehead fish are known as snakehead-heads.

4.         Available for a limited time at participating Red Lobsters. 

3.         It’s very popular with lawyers, am I right people?

2.         Developed by the government to distract people from the whole Cheney-Halliburton thing. 

1.         It’s the result of a drunken genetic engineer and a dare. 

Many initial fears were overblown or laughed off by comedians who managed to pass on misinformation about the snakehead.   This infographic in The Onion from 2002 joked about the  snakehead signing movie deals left and right.  Snakehead fish played a feature role in four movies, including Snakehead Swamp, Frankenfish, Snakehead Terror, and Swarm of the Snakehead. But the movie hype only distracted us from learning more about the potential for the snakehead to cause harm. 

Invasive species are serious concerns as our global society facilitates transcontinental introductions.  An invasive species is "an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health" as per Executive Order 13112: Section1. Definitions. Defining harm is the most difficult prerequisite to devising management interventions. Charles Elton introduced the militaristic "invasion" metaphor to describe exotic plants and animals in the 1950s and we’re often stuck with a Mission Impossible situation. Julian Olden, Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, refers to this approach as the "guilty even when proven innocent."  

The snakehead family of fishes have been federally regulated since 2002 when they were listed as injurious wildlife under the Federal Lacey Act (18 USC 42), which makes it illegal to import injurious wildlife into the United States or transport between the listed jurisdictions in the shipment clause (the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any possession of the United States) without a permit. An injurious wildlife listing would not prohibit intrastate transport or possession of that species within a State where those activities are not prohibited by the State. See also: Injurious Wildlife: A Summary of the Injurious Provisions of the Lacey Act. 

The first step in determining harm is to map out the occurrence and consider where and what other species it might influence.  But this is not a simple step because there are five, not one, species of snakehead fish known to occur in USA (Benson 2019).

Blotched Snakehead Channa maculata is native to southern China and Vietnam.  It was the first snakehead introduced to the island of O’ahu, Hawaii in the late 1800s.  It became established there in ditches, ponds, and reservoirs.  

from USGS

Giant Snakehead Channa micropeltes is tropical-subtropical species native to India, southeast Asia, including the peninsular Malaysia.  It has been collected in six states presumably due to aquarium releases (Benson 2019). 

Giant Snakehead Source

Giant Snakehead juvenile. Source

Northern Snakehead Channa argus is a temperate species native to the Korean peninsula and eastern rivers of China and Russia.  Northern Snakehead have been collected from 13 states and the District of Columbia (Benson 2019).   Northern Snakehead has established populations from Arkansas, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. History of introductions of the Northern Snakehead is chronicled in Benson (2019).  Populations originated from escapees from fish culture ponds (banned in 2002), live food markets, and human assisted introductions.

Northern Snakehead.  Illustration by Susan Trammell. Source

Chevron Snakehead Channa striata is a a warm temperate species native to Pakistan and parts of southeast Asia.  It was introduced into Hawaii as broodstock for commercial aquaculture. 

Chevron Snakehead.  USGS

Bullseye Snakehead Channa marulius is native to tropical and warm temperate regions of southeast Asia, southern China, and Pakistan.  The Bullseye Snakehead has been established in southern Florida since at least 2000, but has not colonized Everglades National Park or Big Cypress Natural Preserve.  

Bullseye Snakehead.  (c) Michigan Science Art.  Source.

It helps that we know more about the distribution of these five snakehead fishes.  Context is everything.   Before snakehead fish were banned for import, live snakeheads were common in live-food markets where they could easily be released to create fisheries or for prayer release ceremonies. The Buddhist practice known as ‘live release’, ‘fang sheng’, ‘mercy release’, and ‘prayer animal release’, entails the release into the wild of captive animals and particularly those destined for slaughter. However, this ancient practice would release animals to their native habitats (Everard et al. 2019).   

Given the multiple species and settings for introduction, we need to treat each case and context according to best information regarding harm and feasible management policies (SPDC 2014; Orth 2019).  To develop and enact sensible policies, it is crucial to consider two philosophical questions: (1) What exactly makes a species native or exotic, and (2) What values are at stake? (Woods and Moriarty 2001). Humans are important vectors so the solution to widespread dispersal must focus on human behavior. Importing live snakeheads is prohibited as is their interstate transport.  Maryland and Virginia prohibit possession of live snakeheads.  Penalties for transporting live Snakehead should be continued and communicated widely.  Fishing and bow fishing have potential to reduce local abundance of Northern Snakehead in Potomac tributaries.   Whether we can eat our way out of the snakehead abundance is yet to be seen, though plenty of recipes will work for this tasty fish.    

Snakehead Cakes prepared by Alewife Restaurant, Baltimore.  Photo by D.J. Orth.

References

Benson, A.J. 2019. Snakehead fishes (Channa spp.) in the USA.  Pages 000-000 in D. Chapman and J. Odenkirk, editors.  First International Snakehead Symposium, American Fisheries Society Symposium 89.  Bethesda, Maryland.  

Dolin, E.J. 2003.  Snakehead: Fish out of water.  Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C.

Everard, M., A.C. Pinder, R. Raghavan, and G. Kataria. 2019.  Are well-intended Buddhist practices an under-appreciated threat to global aquatic biodiversity?  Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 29:136-141. 

Kramer, A. M., G. Annis, M. E. Wittmann, W. L. Chadderton, E. S. Rutherford, D. M. Lodge, L. Mason, D. Beletsky, C. Riseng, and J. M. Drake. 2017. Suitability of Laurentian Great Lakes for invasive species based on global species distribution models and local habitat. Ecosphere 8(7):e01883.

Love, J.W., and J.J. Newhard. 2018. Expansion of Northern Snakehead in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 147:342-349.

Orth, D.J. 2019.  Socrates opens a Pandora’s Box of Northern Snakehead issues.   Pages 000-000 in D. Chapman and J. Odenkirk, editors. First International Snakehead Symposium, American Fisheries Society Symposium 89.  Bethesda, Maryland.  

Snakehead Plan Development Committee (SPDC). 2014. Draft National Control and Management Plan for Members of the Snakehead Family (Channidae).Submitted to the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.  https://www.anstaskforce.gov/Species%20plans/SnakeheadPlanFinal_5-22-14.pdf Accessed July 5, 2018.

Woods, M., and P. Moriarty. 2001. Strangers in a strange land: The problem of exotic species. Environmental Values10:163-191.