Leadville National Fish Hatchery Certified Free of Whirling Disease
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Leadville National Fish Hatchery (NFH), located in Leadville, Colorado, was recently certified ?free of whirling disease? by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The disease was first discovered at the Hatchery in 1995. Eliminating the disease at the Hatchery is a result of implementing a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant and eliminating the use of earthen bottom rearing units.
In recent years, trout from the Leadville NFH could only be stocked in lower elevation whirling disease positive waters where they still contributed to recreational fishing, but did not further the spread of whirling disease. After being certified free of the disease, the Leadville NFH can now " provide fish to the upper Fryingpan-Arkansas reservoirs, support recovery of endangered fish in the Colorado River, and establish a greenback cutthroat broodstock broodstock
The reproductively mature adults in a population that breed (or spawn) and produce more individuals (offspring or progeny).
Learn more about broodstock . An annual fish health inspection will be performed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Fish Health Lab located in Bozeman, Montana, to ensure the Hatchery remains free of the disease.
The Hatchery implemented the water treatment system in June 2004, which is designed to remove or inactivate Triactinomyxons (Tams), the infectious form of the disease, from the water supply. This water treatment system is the first of its kind used in a mass-production rearing facility to successfully rid incoming water of the disease. The technology utilizes a combination of filters and ultraviolet light reactors designed to treat the water before it enters the hatchery operation. Additionally, the hatchery eliminated the use of all earthen bottom rearing units, greatly reducing the threat of the tiny aquatic Tubifex worm, which are critical in the creation of Tams."
First introduced to the United States from Europe in the 1950s, whirling disease is caused by a metazoan parasite that penetrates the head and spinal cartilage of fingerling trout disrupting the equilibrium of the fish causing them to swim erratically, making it difficult for the fish to feed and avoid predators. This highly infectious disease has gradually moved to lakes and streams in western States. Once entering a water body, the disease persists through spores that can live for up to 30 years, even in dried-up streambeds.
"Established in 1889, the Leadville National Fish Hatchery, has a long proud history of providing trout for Colorado waters," said Ed Stege, Manager of the Hatchery. "We are pleased that we can fully continue that mission now that the Hatchery is certified free of whirling disease.? "
