Fish Hatchery Management - fisheries & aquaculture

HATCHERY OPERATIONSt17Lot History Production ChartsProduction lots of fish originating from National Fish Hatcheries are identifiedby a one-digit numeral that designates the year the lot starts on feedand a two-letter abbreviation that identifies the National Fish Hatcherywhere the lot originated. When production lots are received from sourcesoutside the National Fish Hatchery system the following designations apply:(1) the capital letter "U" designates lots originating from a statehatchery followed by the two-letter abreviation of the state; (2) the capitalletter "Y" and the appropriate state abbreviation designates lots originatingfrom commercial sources; (3) the letter "F" followed by the name of thecountry identifies lots originating outside the United States. For example:Lot 7-En designates the 1977 year class originating at theEnnis National Fish Hatchery.Lot 7-UCA designates the 1977 year class originating at aCalifornia state fish hatchery.Lot 7-YWA designates the 1977 year class originating from acommercial hatchery in the state of Washington.Lot 7-F-Canada designates the 1977 year class originating inCanada.Lots from fall spawning broodstock that begin to feed after November30th are designated as having started on January lst of the following year.The practice of maintaining sublots is discouraged but widely separatedshipments of eggs result in different sizes of fish and complicated recordkeeping. 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 designatetwo sublots received in the same year from the Ennis National FishHatchery.Identification of fish species should be made on all management records.The abbreviations for National Fish Hatcheries and the states are presentedin Appendix E.Lot History Production charts should be prepared at the end of eachmonth for all production lots of fish reared in the hatchery. This chart providesvaluable accumulated data on individual lots and is useful in evaluatingthe efficiency and the capability of a hatchery. Information recorded onthe chart will be used in completing a quarterly distribution summary anda monthly cumulative summary. These forms were developed for salmonand trout hatcheries. Parts of them are readily adaptable to intensive cultureof coolwater and warmwater fishes. Presently, information needed toestimate the size of fry at initial feeding (which allows projections ofgrowth and feed requirements from this earliest stage) is lacking for speciesother than salmonids. For the time being, cool- and warmwater fish culturistsshould ignore that part of the production chart, and pick up growth