Oughterard Trout Hatchery is the oldest running wild fish hatchery in the world. It commenced operations in 1852 as a salmon hatchery and became a trout hatchery at the turn of the 20th century. It was the first fish hatchery built by the Victorians and it paved the way for many more of its kind all over the world.
Every year, at the end of October, nets are laid on the Owenriff River where over the course of a week about 200 hen and 100 cock fish are taken to the hatchery. On Sat 8th November I went to the hatchery to watch the next phase of the project . The hen and cock fish were separated into separate ponds and taken out in a 1:2 ratio. Cock trout are more brightly orange coloured than the slightly duller females and they also have a characteristic nub on their lower lip. Both male and female fish have a striking pattern of large black and red spots on their bodies.
We watched as hen fish were stripped of their eggs by an experienced handler and these in turn are fertilized by the milt of the cock fish. These fertilized eggs are then left in the incubation unit of the hatchery and over the course of the next 3 months are tended to by volunteers of the Oughterard Angler hatchery team with team members going in every night to monitor development and remove any damaged ova.
The anglers described it to me as a safety valve on the system. It is a way of increasing numbers of young fry in the system as a whole. But numbers of fry are just part of the equation. The Inland Fisheries Board do great work maintaining and enhancing habitat throughout the entire watershed of Lough Corrib to ensure the maximal chances of survival of fish with the system. Both the anglers and fishery board also actively carry out predator control, in particular pike and mink, to protect both salmon and trout. These fish require very high water quality, they are sensitive to oxygen levels and acidity in their environment and maintaining water quality in such a large system requires cross cooperation between multiple agencies as well as plenty of good will and common sense .
The Oughterard Anglers have an abundance of common sense and goodwill and they also have admirable dedication to continuing this long tradition of hatching young fry at Oughterard. The egg stripping continues next Saturday 15th November and so early next year thousands of young fry will be distributed through-out the Corrib system by all the angling clubs of Lough Corrib Angling Federation. I am looking forward to witnessing that phase of the project.
See videos taken on the day showing stripping of the eggs from the hen and fertilisation of the eggs with milt from the cock fish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
