Community Digest | Fish Hatchery

There are many natural factors that contribute to the way our environment maintains its stability and serenity including the rain, sun, predators, prey, and so on. Nevertheless, there are many ways that mankind helps keep the environment well-balanced. The Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery plays a large role as one of these factors.

The Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery’s overall goal is to manage wildlife. Fish are spawned at the hatchery and are taken care of until they are stocked in a body of water. There are many reasons why fish hatcheries are important including replenishing fish faster than nature is able to, raising aquatic life that is at risk, and fish hatcheries improve recreational fishing by making sure there are lots of fish in lakes and rivers.

Just twenty minutes outside of Graham, Tx, the Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery is located near the Brazos River. It was built in the 1940s and opened in the 1949-1950 season. The fish hatchery currently has 42 ponds spanning 27 acres and the property is on 100 acres of land.

There are many important factors that could be detrimental to the condition and safety of the fish. The factors include water quality, stocking density, pH, temperature, fertilization rate, and more. The workers at the Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery work hard to maintain these perfect conditions so the fish have the best situation before being released into the environment.

There are many fish that the Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery spawn and releases. These fish include stripers, catfish, bass, rainbow trout, and sunfish. There is a winter and summer season where different fish are raised.        

For those who are curious, the Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery offers tours. These tours are given to groups of ten or less on Tuesdays at 2pm and Fridays at 10am. The Graham High School Workforce Industry Training (WIT) team was fortunate enough to receive a tour. The WIT program is for high school students who are interested in gaining knowledge of careers in STEM, therefore the PK Fish Hatchery was a perfect place for an educational and productive field trip.                                                                  

“It was interesting to see all of the different factors that went into managing a fish hatchery.” Meagan Brooks, a first-year WIT student, said. WIT students were able to see all the elements that went into running a successful fish hatchery. Students walked away with knowledge including the way a fish hatchery is managed, the different types of fish spawned, how many fish were in released every year, and how fish were handled.                                   

“My favorite part was getting in there and handling the fish. That was pretty neat.” said Wade Armstrong who is a first-year WIT student. WIT students were also given the opportunity to handle the fish and get a taste of what it would be like working at the fish hatchery. It was a very hands-on experience which led many students to be able to truly learn the information that their guides were reciting and the important role that fish hatcheries play in our environment.