Outdoor writer and photographer Corbet Deary is featured regularly in The Sentinel-Record. Today, Deary takes readers on a journey to Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery.
I suspect many other anglers are like me, in the sense that we often take the luxury of casting into bountiful waters for granted. However, a productive fishery is often not possible without proper management and conservation practices.
Of course, a majority of our native fish species spawn on an annual basis. But there are situations when this natural occurrence is hardly enough to ensure an ideal fish population.
One must consider a number of reasons for the potential decline in both quantity and quality of native species. It only makes sense that heavy fishing pressure could have an adverse effect on populations. And one would also suspect that natural occurrences might also play a role in lower numbers.
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We also have the luxury of fishing for a handful of nonnative fish in our local waters. Of course, these particular species didn't just haphazardly appear. Instead, their introduction to Arkansas' waters was the result of many hours of research and planning of both state and federal agencies.
So just how do we ensure a stable fish population in our local fisheries? Well, as for the angler, I suppose it is most important to follow rules and regulations posted by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Speaking of the AGFC, they are the state agency responsible for gathering data and implementing management practices. They also bear the responsibility of executing the enforcement of regulations, as well as embarking upon stocking programs to ensure healthy fish populations throughout the state. Their work, in the field and behind the desk, is crucial.
The AGFC hatcheries also produce and stock our waterways with a majority of our nonnative species. However, they do work hand-in-hand with national hatcheries on occasion, as well.
In fact, the trout that are stocked below our local dams on an annual basis are hatched and reared to stocking size at the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery near Heber Springs.
According to information posted on their website, "Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery is one of more than 80 facilities in the National Fish Hatchery System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service." The website also explains that the facility is "just one of the many field stations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service whose mission is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."
The hatchery has played a supporting role in the Ozark Hellbender conservation project. The aquatic species was listed as endangered in September 2011, and efforts have since been implemented to restore numbers.
The facility worked in partnership with their Ecological Services Division and the AGFC by building and supplying artificial nesting boxes for the species.
They also are presently involved in a project, working closely with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, to stabilize and increase the numbers of speckled pocketbook mussels, as well as other imperiled mussels in the Little Red River watershed.
The process is rather interesting, beginning with setting out mussel cages in nearby Greers Ferry Lake during the spring season. "The cages contain host fish that have larval mussels attached to their gills."
The mussels eventually develop to a stage that they are no longer dependent on the fish and drop to a sand-filled tray at the cages' bottom. The young mussels remain in the sandy substrate, surviving on natural food sources until reaching a target stature, when they are collected.
OK, how about the role for which they are most famous? Nestled in the southern foothills of the Ozarks and just north of the quaint town of Heber Springs, the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery is also located close to the downstream side of Greers Ferry Dam.
In fact, their water supply comes from the reservoir, via three-level intake structure. The facility utilizes all three levels to reach and maintain an optimal water temperature of 55 degrees or less.
The facility is responsible for the production of both rainbow and brook trout, a majority of which will eventually be released in the frigid tailwaters of federally operated dams situated in the White and Ouachita River basins of Arkansas. The facility also provides trout to be stocked in comparable waters in eastern Oklahoma.
The Hatchery produces an excess of 17,000 9-inch brook trout on an annual basis. They also spend their fair share of time producing yet another trout species that is far more popular in our neck of the woods. In fact, those who fish for rainbow trout below Carpenter and Blakely dams are actually benefiting from the efforts of the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery.
The facility produces more the 190,000 pounds of rainbows on an annual basis. And it just so happens that a portion of these fish are released below the aforementioned local dams.
Of course, specific sections of the facility are off limits to the public to ensure the well-being of the eggs and newborn. However, the public is welcome to tour other sections of the hatchery.
We recently stopped by and embarked upon a tour of the facility. And as it turned out, the experience was both educational and enjoyable. We began with a tour of the raceways, where the more mature fish are housed.
A portion of the vats contained hoards of rainbows, all comparable on size. But I was most intrigued with occasional specimens that were huge in stature. In fact, I can recall thinking that these were fish that most anglers will only dream of catching.
Although we eventually entered the visitor center as a means of taking refuge from the intense summertime temperatures, I quickly became engulfed in reading the information posted on the wall.
I learned that water flowed through the hatchery facilities at a rate of 12,000 to 15,000 gallons per minute. I also learned the various steps of the rearing process.
The eggs are actually spawned and fertilized from adult trout at various broodstock hatcheries in the United States prior to transport. The fertilized eggs arrive packed in ice. The eggs are disinfected and placed in incubator jars, upon arrival, where they will remain until hatching approximately two weeks later.
Referred to as sac fry, the tiny specimens are then transferred from the incubator jars to rearing troughs and tanks. They will absorb the nutrition from their sacs within a couple of weeks and will then begin their lifelong search for food.
They will be hand-fed a specific diet that changes in size and consistency as they continue to grow. And in about six months the fry will have reached a size that they can effectively be transferred outside, into the aforementioned raceways.
The feed size increases as the young trout continue to grow. And as a means of efficiency, the process eventually transforms from hand feeding to blowing the pellets into the raceway.
It takes in the neighborhood of 16 to 20 months for the trout to reach an acceptable stocking size of 11 inches. The specimens are then loaded onto stocking trucks and are transported to the destinations where they will continue and complete their life cycle.
Our jaunt to the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery turned out to be a fruitful experience. Not only were we entertained by literally thousands of small trout swimming to and fro in the raceways, but we also learned an intriguing story of the many steps taken to ensure anglers with an opportunity to experience a rainbow the excitement of seeing one of these beautiful creatures on the line's end.
To get to Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery from Hot Springs, take Highway 70 east for approximately 18 miles and merge onto Interstate 30 east, toward Little Rock. Travel 13 miles and take Exit 129 onto Interstate 430 north, toward Fort Smith.
Remain on 430 for 13 miles and take Exit 13B to merge onto Interstate 40 west, toward Fort Smith. Go 22 miles, take Exit 125 onto Skyline Drive/U.S. 65 north, toward Greenbriar. Travel 12 miles and take a slight right turn onto Highway 25.
Go 15 miles and keep left on Heber Springs Road. Drive 12 miles and make a slight left onto Heber Springs Road south. Travel 6.9 miles and turn right onto Hatchery Road. Continue 1.0 miles to the destination.
Visitors to Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery near Heber Springs will likely find the experience both educational and enjoyable. (The Sentinel-Record/Corbet Deary)