A unique trough, devised by Vern Campbell at the Arlee Hatche 

 fish to various raceways from a central spawning point. 



out requiring large volumes of water. Other 

 state and federal hatcheries throughout the 

 country are adopting the hatching box and 

 find it much more efficient and easy to use 

 than the old hatching baskets or jars. 



Work is being done on the development of 

 a lightweight, completely disposable shipping 

 case for fish eggs. Older cases now in use 

 are heavy and hard to handle. In addition, the 

 cases in traveling to and from various hatch- 

 eries can pick up and transmit various fish 

 diseases. This problem will be eliminated by 

 the disposable case. Tests have shown that 

 fish eggs are able to withstand relatively se- 

 vere conditions and are quite hardy. The new 

 coses will take advantage of this hardiness in 

 lighter weight construction. 



At the Great Falls fish hatchery, a fish loader 

 has been constructed which is a great im- 

 provement over the old bucket method. The 

 loader saves valuable time and the fish are 

 in better condition for hauling. 



The fish hatchery personnel will continue as 

 they have in the past, to seek better and more 



efficient methods of operation wherever the 

 methods may apply — fish food and feeding, 

 treatment or prevention of disease, hatchery- 

 equipment, and distribution units. The end re- 

 sult will be a better product for Montana 

 fishermen. 



Commercial Fisheries 



The increasing need for protein has resulted 

 in a growing market for the so-called rough 

 fish from Montana's waters. This can be a 

 boon to sport fishermen in that in some wa- 

 ters, if enough of the rough fish can be re- 

 moved, the more desirable species will have 

 less competition for food and space and will 

 thrive better. 



Commercial fishing utilizes a resource that 

 would otherwise go to waste. Also, in the 

 process of the fishing a certain number of men 

 are employed, adding a small part to the gen- 

 eral economy of the state. Just recently coop- 

 erative agreements were completed between 

 Montana and the Bureau of Commercial Fish- 



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