FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 



27 



INLAND FISHERIES 



Intensified angling pressure and increased water utilization continued to aggravate the already diffi- 

 cult task of maintaining satisfactory angling for Oalifornia's growing population. The State's great 

 natural fisheries of trout, steelhead and salmon, striped bass, and warmwatcr species are now and al- 

 ways will be the backbone of angling recreation. 



Increased emphasis is being placed on their sound 

 management, for it is important, above all else, to 

 maintain them in the best possible condition. The cost 

 of doing so is negligible compared with the cost of 

 improving angling by stocking or stream improve- 

 ment. 



New dams and water diversions for power and irri- 

 gation continued to create serious fisheries problems. 

 Ever\' effort was made to obtain adequate protection 

 for the fisheries they threaten as well as to take full ad- 

 vantage of any new fisheries possibilities they present. 



Programs which offer the greatest promise for im- 

 proving angling at a reasonable cost were expanded as 

 rapidly as available funds permitted. Financial assist- 

 ance from the Wildlife Conservation Board and the 

 federal aid to fisheries program permitted a gradual, 

 orderly expansion of these activities. Special emphasis 

 was placed during the biennium on lake and stream 

 improvement of several types; and major expansion of 

 the catchable trout program, coupled with an analysis 

 of its role in the California angling picture. 



Increased emphasis was placed on warmwater fish. 

 A series of carefully selected new species was intro- 

 duced into various waters as part of a broad program 

 to evaluate the possibilities they offered for improving 

 angling. 



In the description of the departmental program dur- 

 ing the biennium which follows, a broad separation has 

 been made between management and investigational 

 activities. 



FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 



In general, fisheries management includes all of the 

 great variety of operational projects aimed at improv- 

 ing angling, based on facts obtained through research. 

 Thus, it encompasses such diverse activities as fish 

 stocking and rescue, barrier removal, construction of 

 flow maintenance dams, installation of stream improve- 

 ment devices, construction and maintenance of screens 

 and ladders, rough fish control, and enforcement of 

 regulations. 



Effectiveness of the department's fisheries manage- 

 ment activities was greatly increased b\' the decentral- 

 ization resulting from reorganization, and the attend- 

 ant strengthening of local supervision. 



This management work is now a regional function, 

 although the various regional activities are coordinated 

 into broad state-wide programs. 



FISH PRODUCTION AND PLANTING 



The major fisheries management activit\-, in terms 

 of annual expenditures, is the production and plant- 

 ing of hatcherv-reared trout. 



The period covered in this report has seen the 

 greatest expansion of trout hatcheries ever undertaken 

 in California, and perhaps by any state in the Nation. 



As a result of 14,300,000 made available for capital 

 investment purposes by the Wildlife Conservation 

 Board over the past five-year period, California's huge 

 fish hatchery expansion program, which got under 

 way during the previous biennium but was slowed 

 down due to \sartime restrictions, got into high gear 

 during the latter part of 1952. Two new hatcheries 

 were completed, two existing hatcheries were im- 

 proved and expanded, construction of one additional 

 hatchery was started, and plans completed for two ad- 

 ditional new hatcheries. The two new units are Darrah 

 Springs Hatcher>-, located near the Shasta-Tehama 

 count)- line, about 27 miles east of Red Bluff, and the 

 iMoccasin Creek Hatcher\- at Moccasin, Tuolumne 

 Count\\ 



Darrah Springs Hatchery, representing an invest- 

 ment of approximateh' 1765,000, is the largest trout 

 hatchery in California. Approximately 30 cubic feet 

 of water per second, coming from springs at a tem- 

 perature of 56 degrees, supplies 60 earth-fill, raceway- 

 type ponds, 124 standard hatchery troughs, and 32 

 nursery tanks. Exceptional growth is obtained at this 

 installation. Fish growing at the rate of one inch per 

 month permit production of two crops of catchable 

 fish each year. 



Other facilities include a large food preparation 

 building with refrigerated storage for approximately 

 200,000 pounds of fish food, a garage and shop build- 

 ing for truck and equipment storage and routine main- 

 tenance work, and 12 houses for hatchery personnel. 

 The hatchery has a potential output of 2,000,000 

 catchable trout weighing 300,000 pounds annualh. 



Being strategically located in the very hub of a large 

 fish distribution area, the results from catchable trout 

 produced at this new hatchery will be felt over a wide 

 area in Northern California. 



Lease Arrangement 



The new Aloccasin Creek Hatchery, located imme- 

 dately below the Moccasin Creek powerhouse afterbay 

 in Tuolumne County, was completed just at the close 

 of the 1953-54 Fiscal Year. The hatchery is located on 

 property owned by the City of San Francisco, and is 



