Staff clip fins on fingerlings. - FWS photo

The fish distribution truck used to deliver the Fall Fingerlings. - FWS photo

Typically, fish culture activities are planned out months if not years in advance, especially for fish distribution activities.  But when your supervisor calls you and asks if you're up to a challenge, it sometimes all comes together and works out for the best.  This task recently occurred for the staff at Pendills Creek NFH when we were asked to get approximately 100,000 fall fingerling lake trout fin clipped and ready for distribution within two weeks.

The first thing we accomplished was rounding up intermittent staff members (fin clippers) to come in and get the required fins clipped on these fish so they could be distributed, which was even more time consuming this year due to the fact that each and every fish would need a double fin clip.  This alone increases the amount of clipping time by about one third.  Secondly, our clippers typically only work in March and April each year so asking them to come in and work in October would definitely be new and challenging.

Well, everything came together, permanent staff members worked very hard to get this new task completed and we managed to get eight intermittent workers (fin clippers) to come in and clip fins.  The whole process was completed in less than two weeks and our fish were ready to be distributed into upper Lake Michigan using the new Service vessel the MV Spencer F. Baird.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate to utilize the vessel so the fish were shore planted.

The thing that most impresses me after 17 years in the Service is the can do mentality of our workers and the willingness to pull together and get something beyond the ordinary accomplished.  The staff members at Pendills Creek/Sullivan Creek NFH's are those types of people and I thank them.

Curt Friez

Hatchery Manager, Pendills Creek/Sullivan Creek NFH's