Mudsnails found in two state hatcheries in central Pa., but trout stockings continue
The discovery of New Zealand Mudsnails in two Centre County state fish hatcheries has created new safety protocols, but the number of trout being stocked should remain the same.
“The fall and winter stockings are going as planned for the most part, just a couple of delays,” Brian Wisner, director of the Bureau of Hatcheries for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, said about the waterways that are supplied by Benner Spring and Pleasant Gap State hatcheries.
The agency reports New Zealand mudsnails were detected in May within water supply plumbing inside a Benner Spring hatchery building. It was the first detection of the snails in a PFBC hatchery, but these snails have been present since 2010 in Spring Creek, adjacent to the Benner Spring facility.
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New Zealand mudsnails have been documented in roughly 30 waters across Pennsylvania, including several popular central and eastern coldwater trout fisheries. They are roughly the size of a matchhead and can be even smaller. The snails are spread to new waters by attaching to waders, fishing gear and boats, and have the potential to reach densities of hundreds or even thousands per square foot of streambed.
The Benner Spring finding led to the activation of the agency’s "New Zealand Mudsnail Prevention, Monitoring, and Response Plan," which included suspending all transfers of fish into and out of Benner Spring. Additionally, more thorough inspections were scheduled at Benner Spring and all other state fish hatcheries and cooperative nurseries that are connected to or near waters that are known to contain New Zealand mudsnails.
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During the inspection process, the agency reports the mudsnails were also detected at the Pleasant Gap State Fish Hatchery, which is adjacent to the Logan Branch of Spring Creek, a water also known to contain the invasive snails. Inspections at all other state fish hatcheries were negative. Four cooperative nurseries operated by volunteer conservation organizations in Northampton, Lehigh and Franklin counties were found to contain mudsnails.
The big concern? “They don’t need a partner to reproduce, so they reproduce asexually, each individual can produce a couple hundred offspring a year. It just takes one snail and it can really explode if the conditions are right,” Brian Niewinski, chief of the division of fish production services, said.
The agency reports thorough inspections, disinfection and risk assessment processes will continue indefinitely to determine the appropriate use of the fish for stocking operations to reduce the chances of mudsnails being introduced to new waters.
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The agency plans provide similar numbers of trout as in the past including this fall's and winter’s allotments. Wisner said there were a few delays in the fall because of the quarantine zones and logistics. “Once, we got that situation squared away, we are now complete with our fall stockings and our winter stockings and our winter stockings will begin November 15.”
Benner Spring produces approximately 500,000 adult trout for stocking and Pleasant Gap produces about 420,000 each year. Besides the adults, fingerling-sized trout are produced for either fingerling stockings or co-operative nurseries.
“The biggest message I think we want to send to fishermen is just to be aware of it, to educate themselves. To know there are streams that already have New Zealand mudsnails in them and we want people to know that if you are going to be fishing in those streams to use precautions. Clean your gear, disinfect your gear if you are moving from one body of water to another,” Niewinski said.
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Anglers need to look carefully for the extremely small snails that can cling to laces in fishing boots and on the sides of boats. “They are very hardy, they don’t need much to survive,” he said about them staying alive outside of water for long periods of time," he said.
Tips for disinfecting gear, like putting your boots in a freezer for at least six hours, can be found at fishandboat.com.
If you are fishing in a stream that already has mudsnails, the agency discourages anglers from catching fish and restocking them in other waterways that don’t already have mud snails.
Going forward, the two hatcheries are investigating new water wells and water sources and filtration techniques to prevent the invasive creatures from entering the hatcheries’ raceways.
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“Our goal is to maintain the production and stocking the way we always have. Although we do realize internally we may have to make some operational adjustments so we can move the fish through the quarantine zones,” Wisner said.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on social media @whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: New Zealand Mudsnails invade central Pennsylvania waterways
