Washboard mussel as seen in the Field Guide to Freshwater Mussels of the Midwest. - Courtesy photo

Genoa National Fish Hatchery (NFH) has worked to become a nationally recognized force in freshwater mussel propagation and culture. 

One goal of Genoa’s mussel program is to investigate larval mussel and fish interactions in order to find suitable host fish for mussel species that are of interest for restoration. 

Because of the promising results in the recovery of the endangered Higgins eye pearlymussel, Genoa NFH was asked to be a part of a multi-agency group charged with the restoration of a large mussel bed near Marietta, OH that suffered a fish and mussel kill in 1999. 

This multi-agency group consists of the West Virginia and Ohio Departments of Natural Resouces (DNR), Ohio Islands National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, White Sulfur Springs NFH, Ohio State University, and Genoa NFH. 

Genoa NFH cultures up to 16 species of fish annually and has the capacity to raise and hold cold, cool, and warm water species of fish.  Because of this capability, Genoa is able to conduct host trials even into late autumn.  One mussel species of interest for the Ohio River group is the washboard mussel, which happens to spawn and release their glochidia (larval mussels) in the fall.  

These glochidia will then over winter on the fish and complete their transformation in the spring of the following year. Washboards are known to successfully complete their parasitic life stage on channel catfish which is a very near relative of the blue catfish. 

Blue catfish are also of interest to West Virginia DNR as a species their fisheries program wants to restore in the Ohio River.  If fish stocking and mussel culture can be combined then the DNR will get more bang for their buck or catfish in this case. 

Genoa NFH had obtained 300 blue catfish from the Normandy State Fish Hatchery during the summer of 2007 for host trials.  Genoa’s mussel biologist collected three gravid washboard mussels in October and brought them back to the hatchery where the staff proceeded to inoculate 40 blue catfish with washboard glochidia.  

The blue catfish were then divided into groups of five and then placed into eight aquaria.  Juvenile washboards excysted 16 days post inoculation making blue catfish a suitable host fish for washboards. 

This data will allow the Ohio River group to make informed decisions as they proceed with the restoration of this mussel bed.