New York State’s aging fish hatchery system will undergo a $100 million overhaul in the next few years, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The funding supports the first of three phases planned for all 12 of DEC’s hatcheries across the state, including Oneida Hatchery in Constantia, Salmon River Fish Hatchery in Altmar, and South Otselic Hatchery in Chenango County.

“This is a big chunk of money which can really be transformative for the hatchery system,” said Jim Daly, DEC Superintendent of Fish Culture.

Daly said the modernization plan is designed to “futureproof” the state’s hatchery system with regard to climate change while simultaneously making it more productive and efficient.

“All these modernized facilities will give us the adaptability to make changes as we need to,” Daly said. “We want to be able to switch it up if we have to, maybe change the mix of species.”

Daly said the hatchery system’s increased capacity could be used to raise more rare and endangered fish species, for example, or to restore species like Atlantic salmon to the Finger Lakes.

The DEC’s Salmon River Fish Hatchery is the state’s largest, and the sole supplier of Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead and brown trout in Lake Ontario

Three phase implementation

DEC will implement its modernization plan in three phases over a decade, with Phase 1 beginning immediately.

Highlights of Phase 1 include:

• Covering the rearing ponds at the Caledonia Hatchery to exclude predators, reduce sunlight, and provide a surface for a photovoltaic system;
• Refurbishing ponds at the South Otselic Hatchery for increased walleye production;
• Overhauling the water supply system at the Salmon River Hatchery;
• Building a new hatch house at Chateaugay Hatchery;
• Replacing the existing hatchery at Randolph with a brand-new facility.

The keystone project of the Phase 1 hatchery modernization plan will be a complete rebuild of the Randolph Hatchery in Cattaraugus County.

“That is one of our major broodstock hatcheries for domestic trout—rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout,“ Daly said. ”They take millions of eggs every year. So it’s a very important hatchery for us. But it’s in pretty rough shape.”

Right now, fish at Randolph are raised in outdoor ponds, susceptible to predation by dozens of blue herons that often come at night to feast on them.

“It’s a never-ending battle,” Daly said.

And in March, DEC euthanized tens of thousands of yearling trout at Randolph after whirling disease was discovered at the facility.

Whirling disease is fatal to fish, and was likely introduced from wild fish in a pond that feeds Randolph hatchery, DEC said.

But the new hatchery planned for Randolph will eliminate these chronic problems, Daly said.

“Not only will we have some increased capacity, but it’ll be a much more efficient system,” he said. “We’ll lose less to predation. We’ll have less pathogens coming in from the outside. In the long run we’ll save money as far as operating costs.”

A running boat loaded with nets for catching walleye docks at the Oneida Lake Fish Cultural Station during the spring walleye spawn on Scriba Creek in Constantia.

Plans for CNY hatcheries

The Oneida Fish Hatchery, which supplies most of NY’s stocked walleye, “is doing pretty well without the need for major investments,” said Daly.

Still, as part of Phase 1, DEC recently installed a UV water treatment system at Oneida to eliminate pathogens that threaten fish in the warmer months.

“One of the issues we had at Oneida was the water supply,” Daly said. “In the summertime, it does get marginal as far as temperature goes. And when the temperatures go up, parasites and other fish health issues come up.”

The water supply at the Salmon River Hatchery will also see some upgrades, specifically more water pumped from underground wells.

That well water is better quality than water the hatchery receives from the Salmon River Reservoir, Daly said. It’s cleaner, and the temperature doesn’t fluctuate as much.

“We want to improve the well field and then also add some aeration like degassing of harmful gases coming in, like radon or CO2 or nitrogen,” Daly said. “And we also want to add oxygen.”

Bigger changes are in store for the South Otselic Hatchery in Phase 2. DEC recently discovered a “tremendously productive cold water well” onsite that will completely transform how the hatchery operates.

Right now, the South Otselic hatchery raises walleye in earthen outdoor ponds, as well as small lots of heritage-strain brook trout.

But the newly discovered cold water well could be game changer.

“It will supply a new cold water production facility,” Daly said, giving DEC greater flexibility to increase production of cold water species, such as brook trout and Atlantic salmon.

Oldest hatchery system in North America

New York’s fish hatchery system is the oldest in North America. The Caledonia Hatchery southwest of Rochester, for example, has been in continuous operation since 1864.

The average age of a DEC hatchery is 93 years. The whole system produces around 850,000 pounds of fish each year, providing stock for more than 1,200 lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams across the state.

A 2022 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that New York’s hatcheries contribute directly to $5 billion in economic activity through the recreational freshwater fishing industry, Daly said.

DEC’s hatchery modernization plan “is going to really revitalize our whole fish culture system in New York state,” Daly said. “It’s definitely an exciting opportunity. We’re very fortunate.”

Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for syracuse.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com.