Little Grassy Fish Hatchery

Study Notes

The Paw Report is a TV show that covers the Little Grassy Fish Hatchery in Southern Illinois, near the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge.
The hatchery is primarily focused on catfish production, but also raises other warm-water species such as bluegill, redear sunfish, and largemouth bass.
John Zeigler is the hatchery manager, who has a background in fisheries biology and has worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The hatchery has a staff of seven, including an assistant manager, five technicians, an office coordinator, and a site interpreter who gives tours.
The facility was established in 1959 and has undergone several renovations, including a major renovation from 1971 to 1982 that added more ponds, a maintenance shop, and indoor raceways.
The hatchery uses water from Little Grassy Lake, which is gravity-fed into the facility, with some water pumped up to a head box on the roof for indoor use.
The facility has 21 ponds and 18 outdoor raceways, which are used for most of the fish production, as well as indoor raceways and incubation racks for hatching and rearing fish eggs.
The hatchery specializes in warm-water species, including channel catfish and blue catfish, and produces fish for stocking in public lakes and rivers in Illinois.
The facility's location in Southern Illinois allows for a longer growing season, making it more efficient for growing catfish.
The production process involves spawning adult fish, incubating and hatching eggs, and growing out fingerling fish to a stockable size.
The facility's indoor area is used for incubating and hatching eggs, as well as rearing small fish, and also serves as a holding area for fish after harvesting ponds.
Maintaining a healthy environment for the fish involves monitoring water quality parameters, including oxygen levels, water temperature, and controlling blue-green algae and planktonic issues.
The ponds and raceways are designed to mitigate issues such as winter freezing, and aeration systems are used to maintain water quality and prevent ice formation.- The Little Grassy Fish Hatchery monitors oxygen levels in ponds daily, using dissolved oxygen meters, to ensure a healthy environment for fish.
Electric aerators are used to add oxygen to the water if levels get too low, and diffusers in the ponds also help to increase oxygen levels.
Aeration typically occurs at night, as photosynthesis during the day produces oxygen.
The hatchery checks ponds and raceways daily, feeding fish and performing maintenance tasks as needed.
Fish species are fed differently, with some, like sunfish, living off natural diets, while others, like channel catfish, require a high-protein commercial diet.
The hatchery uses fertilization to promote phytoplankton growth, which zooplankton feed on, and in turn, are fed on by fish.
Channel catfish are spawned in raceways, and then moved to ponds for growth, while other species, like bluegill and redear sunfish, are raised extensively in ponds.
Intensive fish culture, like that used for channel catfish, requires more labor, inputs, and aeration, whereas extensive culture, like that used for sunfish, requires less input.
Milk jugs are used as a spawning site for channel catfish, which are cavity spawners and prefer to spawn in enclosed spaces.
The hatchery raises bluegill, redear sunfish, black crappie, largemouth bass, channel catfish, and blue catfish.
Bluegill are common, easy to catch, and good to eat, while redear sunfish have a more muscular mouth and eat snails and mussels, earning them the nickname "shell crackers".
Black crappie are prized as a food fish, but can overpopulate small impoundments, and are better suited to large reservoirs.
Largemouth bass are sought after for sport fishing, but have more restrictive limits due to their lower population numbers and higher position in the food chain.
Channel catfish are easy to catch, feed aggressively at night, and are prized for their food value.
Blue catfish are found in large rivers and reservoirs, feed on live prey, and can grow up to 124 pounds, with a distinct steel-blue color and straight anal fin.

Description

Learn about the Little Grassy Fish Hatchery in Southern Illinois, its operations, and the various fish species it raises, including catfish, bluegill, and largemouth bass. Discover the hatchery's history, staff, and facilities.