Environmental Education Do you have an interest in learning about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries Program, fish hatcheries, your native species and more? Do you enjoy science, learning new information, and sharing your knowledge with a variety of age groups? Then consider volunteering at a Fisheries facility. Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery is currently looking for volunteers interested in developing an Environmental Education program. If you are interested in volunteering please contact the hatchery for more information. Quagga Mussel Veliger Research Quagga mussels and New Zealand Mud Snails still thrive on the hatchery. Researchers like to utilize the hatchery for a location to study quagga mussels. The hatchery provides a unique easy way to sample veligers in the flowing raceway and there are always adult mussels available. Some of the research completed at the hatchery is highlighted below:
Other Research Beginning in 2011, Dr. David Hartley from Toronto University, Herderson, NV, began to utilize the hatchery for his research to better define the immune system of salmonid fish. A better understanding of their immune system should aid in maintaining healthy fish in hatcheries. The second goal is to better understand the bacterial salmonid pathogen, Renibacterium salmoninarum. The hope is that increased knowledge of the mechanisms of pathogens by this bacterium will aid in treatment of prophylaxis of this disease in fish stocks. |