HATCHERY OPERATIONS 117 



Lot History Production Charts 



Production lots of fish originating from National Fish Hatcheries are iden- 

 tified by a one- digit numeral that designates the year the lot starts on feed 

 and a two-letter abbreviation that identifies the National Fish Hatchery 

 where the lot originated. When production lots are received from sources 

 outside the National Fish Hatchery system the following designations ap- 

 ply: (l) the capital letter "U" designates lots originating from a state 

 hatchery followed by the two-letter abreviation of the state; (2) the capital 

 letter "Y" and the appropriate state abbreviation designates lots originating 

 from commercial sources; (3) the letter "F" followed by the name of the 

 country identifies lots originating outside the United States. For example: 



Lot 7-En designates the 1977 year class originating at the 



Ennis National Fish Hatchery. 

 Lot 7-UCA designates the 1977 year class originating at a 



California state fish hatchery. 

 Lot 7-YWA designates the 1977 year class originating from a 



commercial hatchery in the state of Washington. 

 Lot 7-F-Canada designates the 1977 year class originating in 



Canada. 



Lots from fall spawning broodstock that begin to feed after November 

 30th are designated as having started on January 1st of the following year. 



The practice of maintaining sublots is discouraged but widely separated 

 shipments of eggs result in different sizes of fish and complicated record 

 keeping. When sublots are necessary, they are identified by letters (a, b, c, 

 etc.) following the hatchery abbreviation. Lot 7-En-a and 7-En-b designate 

 two sublots received in the same year from the Ennis National Fish 

 Hatchery. 



Identification of fish species should be made on all management records. 

 The abbreviations for National Fish Hatcheries and the states are present- 

 ed in Appendix E. 



Lot History Production charts should be prepared at the end of each 

 month for all production lots of fish reared in the hatchery. This chart pro- 

 vides valuable accumulated data on individual lots and is useful in evaluat- 

 ing the efficiency and the capability of a hatchery. Information recorded on 

 the chart will be used in completing a quarterly distribution summary and 

 a monthly cumulative summary. These forms were developed for salmon 

 and trout hatcheries. Parts of them are readily adaptable to intensive cul- 

 ture of coolwater and warmwater fishes. Presently, information needed to 

 estimate the size of fry at initial feeding (which allows projections of 

 growth and feed requirements from this earliest stage) is lacking for species 

 other than salmonids. For the time being, cool- and warmwater fish cultu- 

 rists should ignore that part of the production chart, and pick up growth 



