EMBDEN (AP) – The state will spend $3 million to upgrade its trout and salmon hatchery on Embden Pond, tripling its fish production and transforming it into the largest in the state.
The hatchery will be shut down for a year beginning in June 2004 while the work is done, said Steve Wilson, the state’s superintendent of hatcheries.
“This is a very important hatchery, as far as the quality of fish we can raise from it,” he said. “We know we can really increase the potential of that facility. It’s worth the investment.”
Maine voters last fall approved a $7 million bond issue to upgrade and update six of the state’s nine aging fish hatcheries, most built in the 1950s and 1960s. The Embden hatchery is 50 years old.
The state has hired Fish Pro, an engineering and scientific firm from Springfield, Ill., to oversee the improvements.
The Embden facility now produces about 200,000 fingerlings, or 30,000 pounds of fish. After the improvements, the figure probably will increase to about 90,000 pounds, Wilson said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.