New bfood stock ponds and spawning house of Mt. Shasta Hatchery. Fish are pushed into the spawning house without removing them from the 



water, resulting in less injury to the fish and better quality eggs taken. 



— Fish and Game Photo 



to the health of the brood stock. Excellent eggs are 

 obtained at this station and are distributed widely to 

 other hatcheries. 



Several fish transportation trucks were remodeled 

 to incorporate newly developed features in tank de- 

 sign. These features include a pump intake underneath 

 a raised screened floor, and the distribution of the 

 aerated, recirculated water either by spray or injec- 

 tion near the top of the tank. 



These changes, especially the raised screen floor, 

 greatly reduced the tendency of the fish to congre- 

 gate in areas of low circulation and smother from lack 

 of oxygen. Furthermore, they increased carrying ca- 

 pacity. A 500-gallon tank was reduced to 400-gallon 

 capacity, while its fish-hauling capacity was increased 

 from an average of 700 pounds to 1,200 pounds per 

 load. 



Sufficient brood stock of the nearly extinct Eagle 

 Lake trout have been retained at Crystal Lake Hatch- 

 ery to insure the perpetuation of this species. Plans 

 have been made for an artificial propagation program 

 to assist the Eagle Lake trout fishery. A fish-counting 

 weir, and a trapping and egg collecting station are to 

 be installed on Pine Creek, the lone spawning tribu- 

 tary for the Eagle Lake trout. 



Fish Feed 



Considerable progress in the use of dry food at state 

 hatcheries was made. With a steady decrease in pur- 

 chase of meat products for fish food, the use of dry 

 pellet-type feeds is becoming more important eco- 

 nomically each year. Fortunately, dry feeds which 

 provide a nearly complete diet for trout and salmon 

 are now available from commercial manufacturers. 



However, at some hatcheries it is still necessary to 

 feed a meat and ocean fish diet one or two days a 

 week as a supplement to the dry feed, because the 

 fish have not done well when fed only dry feed. 



Two devices for dispensing dry feeds were 

 developed by department personnel. A pellet blower 

 mounted on a pickup truck for blowing pellets into 

 rearing ponds and a modified valve funnel for use in 

 feeding powdered and granular-type feeds to troughs 

 and nursery tanks have proven highly satisfactory. 



In spite of the rising cost of doing business because 

 of inflation, the cost of producing trout decreased 

 from 85 cents per pound in the 1956-57 Fiscal Year 

 to 77 cents per pound in the 1957-58 Fiscal Year. 



Perforated aluminum grates for pushing brood fish into the spawning 

 house at Mt. Shasta Hatchery. 



— Fish and Game Photo 



