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Operation of new hatcheries and new facilities constructed at existing hatcheries

Trout hatchery.

Combination hatchery-salmon and trout.

'Operation at 100 percent of capacity of new facilities which will be ready in fiscal

year 1967. Full production of hatchery will be as follows: $135,000; 125,000 pounds.

Combination hatchery-warm water and trout.

NOTE.-All cost figures exclude major maintenance and equipment.

Operation of spawning channel, Tehama-Colusa-Red Bluff project, California.— A total of $37,000 and two permanent positions will initiate operation of a spawning channel. As part of the Central Valley project, California, the Red Bluff diversion dam and reservoir will be ready for operation in the summer of 1967. Operation of the spawning channel in the Tehama-Colusa Canal is necessary to attain salmon conservation and replace spawning grounds lost through the filling of the Red Bluff Reservoir.

Operation of the National Fisheries Center and Aquarium.-The amount of $146,100 and three permanent positions are to be utilized in solving the following problems:

Good water is the most important and the least understood portion of an aquarium. All successful large aquariums (with one exception), are located close to the sea, where ample quantities of running sea water are available to them. The Fisheries Center has little precedent and only scanty quantitative information on which to base its operation on closed, recirculating sea water and fresh water systems. Present methods of filtering the water are costly and inefficient. New filter materials and water treatment substances have recently become available, but are not yet in general use. Their adequacy for aquarium use must be evaluated before the final design stages are reached.

Investigations must be started on a comparison of synthetic sea water and natural sea water; the use of cobalt irradiation for controlling disease organisms; the buildup of bacteria in filter systems; the elimination of chlorine and copper from city water supplies; the comparative toxicity of various newly available plastics and sealants. Part of the necessary research will be done by the staff of the Fisheries Center, and the additional staff members will be chosen for their abilities in these areas. It will be possible to contract with other organizations for those projects for which facilities are not available here.

Working models of certain of the novel exhibits must be prepared, in order that their final form and function can be determined. This will enable the architects to plan for the location and the adequacy of structural members, piers, footings, utilities, and the like. It is planned to issue contracts for a portion of this work. Aquarium and research specialists will be consulted with increasing frequency, and it is expected that the advisory board of the Fisheries Center will need to meet at least twice during fiscal year 1967. Also, the Director and his staff will have increased need of travel funds as the project and plans progress.

Contracts will be issued to other large aquariums for 6-month training programs for each of three employees, in order that a nucleus of trained persons will be available for the opening of the Fisheries Center.

Research equipment will be required to provide such items as spectrophotometer, pH meter, oxygen meters, in-line monitoring equipment, multiple recorders, aquariums, oscilloscopes, pumps, filters, workbenches, and desks. Supplies will include office supplies, reference books and periodicals, chemicals, glassware, and the like.

The Fisheries Center is already beginning to function as an important addition to the aquatic research facilities of our Nation. Requests for information pertaining to the sea and its inhabitants and our Nation's role in marine research are arriving in increasing numbers. Publications and pamphlets on various subjects should be prepared in advance of the opening date of the Fisheries Center, as this important function is the responsibility and charge of that facility.

The National Fisheries Center and Aquarium is an active institution engaged in planning and preparing for a new national facility of great importance. Some of the research to be undertaken in fiscal year 1967 can result in economies during construction and will provide operating knowledge by the time the structure is completed.

Wage board increases.-The amount of $45,000 is needed for wage board increases. Employees occupying unclassified positions in the trades, crafts, or occupations are compensated at hourly rates of pay which are fixed and adjusted from time to time to correspond with prevailing rates in the local recruiting areas, through wage rate surveys and wage board action. Unlike classified positions where salary increases are offset by normal turnover, with replacements usually starting at the base salary for the grade, replacement employees in the unclassified group must be recruited and hired at the currently approved rate, with the result that there is no salary saving. The estimate of $45,000 will cover the increased cost of these positions.

Program of work: The estimate of $7,909,000 will be used for operation and maintenance of hatcheries and the distribution of fish, maintenance of fish screens, operation of the Tehama-Colusa spawning channel, operation of the

existing national aquarium, and planning for the National Fisheries Center and Aquarium in Washington, D.C.

The national fish hatchery system has been developed and is operated to produce the species, sizes, and numbers of fish required in the management of the Nation's inland sport fishery resource. Rearing and stocking of hatcheryproduced fish are one element in the total management effort, which is a joint undertaking of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the State fish and game departments. The objective is to conserve and enhance the fishery resource and to provide thereby a resource base capable of sustaining the growing public demand for quality sport fishing. In 1960 a total of 25,300,000 fishermen engaged in the sport for an estimated 465,700,000 fisherman-days. By 1980, the number of fishermen will increase to about 44,400,000, and by the year 2000 will grow to 67,700,000. The total fishermen-days in those years are estimated to be 843,400,000 and 1,355 million respectively. These projected levels of utilization of the sport fishery resource base indicated a growth rate in excess of that estimated for the national population.

Allocations of hatchery-produced fish are made according to recommendations of management biologists to assure optimum utilization of the hatchery product and maximum efficiency in operations. Close cooperation is maintained with State conservation agencies regarding fish stocking activities and production planning for the future. Cooperative agreements are in effect with the States regarding details of national fish hatchery propagation and distribution activities. Agreements are also in effect with Federal agencies for fishery management activities in waters controlled by those agencies. These agreements are developed to provide assurance that stocking will conform with management plans and to avoid duplication of effort between the State and Federal Governments.

Production from national fish hatcheries is utilized in the following principal areas: maintenance of Pacific salmon species and steelhead trout (anadromous species); stocking of fingerling or catchable trout in suitable waters; initial and maintenance stocking of reservoirs and farm ponds with warm-water species; restocking of lake trout depleted by an infestation of sea lampreys in the Great Lakes; distribution of predatory species (walleye and northern pike) to control undesirable fish in large impoundments; limited production of rare or endangered species (such as Lahontan cutthroat trout and Atlantic salmon); and production of various species as test animals for research programs of the Bureau or other Federal agencies. Production from national fish hatcheries is utilized to stock the following categories of waters in the order listed: first, to waters on lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government (including waters created on private lands with the assistance of the Federal Government); second, to waters affected by Federal or federally sponsored water development projects, whether the waters concerned are under Federal or State control; third, to public waters under State control where State fish production is inadequate to meet the management need. The total estimate is broken down by functions as follows:

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Production: In fiscal year 1965, approximately 3,741,000 pounds of fish were produced, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year. It is estimated that production for 1966 is increased an additional 8,000 pounds. Production for 1967 will be approximately 3,934,000 pounds, or 81 percent of the potential production level obtainable with existing facilities. The production scheduled in 1967 will support an estimated 19 million fisherman days. The total level of fishing supported by the national fish hatchery program, including accumulative effects of prior years' stocking, is estimated to be approximately 42 million fisherman days annually. It has been estimated that on a national level, each man-day of fresh water fishing generates an expenditure in excess of $5.

Distribution: In 1967, an estimated 2.9 million pounds of fish will be distributed by national fish hatchery trucks. Additional poundages will be distributed in plastic bags through the mails, by aircraft, and by State agencies under reciprocal stocking agreements. For the past few years, several million fish have been stocked annually in Lake Powell (above Glenn Canyon Dam) by a C-46 aircraft under contract to the Bureau. A 1964 study of this stocking method indicated that savings over conventional truck distribution methods amounted to $12,000 and 1,100 man-hours. As a result of better designed distribution equipment, and the application of research findings on fish transport, an average of nearly 600 pounds of fish is now carried on each distribution trip. This is an increase of 102 percent (or nearly 300 pounds) within the past 10 years.

Maintenance: The estimate provides funds for recurring maintenance of production facilities, buildings, and other physical facilities, including purchase of necessary supplies, materials, and equipment for both major and minor maintenance. The replacement value of the physical plant of the national fish hatchery system is almost $65 million and requires an annual maintenance level of aproximately $2,132,000. In 1967, this planned program of annual major maintenance will be at 35 percent of the required level.

Recreation: In addition to recreational fishing supported by the production program, hatchery installations offer on-site recreation and conservation education opportunities to the public, in the form of sightseeing, picnic areas, aquariums and visitor centers, and informational contacts with public groups. These programs will be conducted in minimum levels in 1967. During the period 1951 to 1961, the number of visitors to national fish hatcheries (not including the Washington, D.C., aquarium) increased from 700,000 to 1,274,000. It is estimated that the number of visitors will total approximately 1,872,000 in 1967. Planning: The act of October 9, 1962 (16 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) authorized construction of a National Fisheries Center and Aquarium in Washington, D.C. Activities in 1967 will be primarily devoted to research and planning functions to enable the staff to keep pace with the architects in preparing drawings and specifications prior to construction.

The total estimate is broken down as follows:

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EXAMPLES OF RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The national fish hatchery system has made continual improvements in operating efficiency and in contributions to the sport and commercial fishery. The following indicators suggest some of the achievements in improving utilization of manpower and funds. In 1965, a total of 8,619 pounds of fish were produced for each man-year of labor expended at the station level, an increase of 261 percent since 1951. The production cost per pound in 1965 was 80 cents, a decrease of 28 percent since 1951, and the labor cost per pound was 45 cents a decrease of 36 percent during the same period. In 1965, the food conversion rate (pounds of food required to produce one pound of fish) was 2, a 50-percent reduction from the 1951 level. The reduction of cost during this period, in light of constantly increasing prices for materials, supplies, equipment, and services, and the

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