TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL EASTERN FISH HEALTH WORKSHOP Royal Pavilion Resort, Atlantic Beach, NC MARCH 9-11, 1999 Poor Reproductive Success Of Landlocked Atlantic Salmon At Allegheny National Fish Hatchery Bill Fletcher1, Patricia Barbash2, Jerre Moler1, and Fred Griffiths3 1U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 75, Lamar, PA 16848; 2U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 155, Lamar, PA 16848; 3U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Allegheny National Fish Hatchery, RD#1, Box 1050, Warren, PA 16365 Fish production programs at the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery are directed toward restoration of lake trout for the Great Lakes, as well as the production of 200,000 feeding landlocked Atlantic salmon (LAS - Salmo salar) fry for Lake Ontario. For several years, problems have been encountered with the production of LAS broodstock, both prior to and after spawning, and with poor reproductive success. Only eight percent of LAS broodstock survived to spawn in 1996 and six percent in 1997 survived to stocking, Egg eye-up was low and variable for both years; - 10 to 45% in 1996 and 4 to 73% in 1997. Many of the egg takes were noted as being "soft" and very fragile through incubation to hatch out. In 1998, two different strains of LAS broodstock were used. Investigations into the cause of the broodstock mortality and subsequent egg condition and survival were initiated to include disease diagnostics concentrating on the possible presence of Flavobacterium psychrophilum, causative agent for coldwater disease, water quality parameters, and incubation density. In addition, performance of LAS broodstock moved to the Northeast Fishery Center prior to spawning was also evaluated for site comparison. Initial data indicates that incubation density had no impact on egg survival. However, location of the broodstock appeared significant in survival to eye-up. Eggs taken at Lamar showed 81.7% survival to eye-up with equally good survival to hatch. In sharp contrast, only 27.5% of the eggs taken and incubated at Allegheny survived to eye-up, and less than half survived from eye-up to hatch. The alternative strain of LAS eggs shipped for comparison produced even poorer survival, with only 6.3% eye-up. Bacteriological findings and other related parameters will be presented and discussed. Return to 24th Annual Eastern Fish Health Workshop Return to Leetown Science Center Home Page