NCLL visits DNR fish hatchery

Members of the Northern Center for Lifelong Learning visited the DNR’s fish hatchery in Harvey today, and got an up close look at how brook and lake trout are bred for each season.

The tour consisted of a look at the brood stock, or, the fish that are used to produce roe and sperm to breed further generations. NCLL members also got a look at the production fish, which are deposited into the various U.P. lakes each season.

Jo Foley, in her first year as an NCLL member, said, “The most fascinating thing to me was the fact that they actually keep and raise the brood stock. I had no idea that they had 13-year-old brook trout and lake trout here that they keep and that they collect the eggs and milk from every year. Also, the attention that they place on the genetics, in keeping the stock genetically diverse; that was very impressive.”

“[I’m] just absolutely amazed at the process of getting from the fertilized eggs, to the fingerlings, and how they end up in the streams and ponds and lakes within Michigan. It’s a massive operation,” two-year member Philip Pfannenstiel said.

The visit to the fish hatchery is just one of many events the NCLL puts on throughout the year.