Fish Hatchery Security

[Donathan, Kayla M]

Hi everyone,

We're currently facing security challenges at our state-owned hatcheries. They're open to the public daily, but due to being understaffed, it's difficult to monitor visitor activities effectively. I believe there's a legislative rule requiring our hatcheries to remain open during specific hours, but we need to ensure both staff safety and biosecurity. Is anyone else dealing with a similar issue? If so, how are you addressing it? Thank you!  

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Kayla Donathan

Natural Resources Program Manager - Outreach and Education

WEST VIRGINIA DIVISION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

WILDLIFE RESOURCES SECTION

ph (304) 352-1040  |  cell (681) 895-7585  |  fax (304) 558-3147

kayla.m....@wv.gov

324 4th Ave.  |  South Charleston, WV 25303

WVdnr.gov

[Michael Hobson]

Texas Parks and Wildlife is not seeing the same issues at our TPWD hatcheries.  All the facilities are fenced and public access is managed to the extent possible. Hatchery tours are offered each Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Friday at 10 a.m. for groups of 10 or less. Tours for groups of 10 or more are asked to contact the facilities to arrange a tour by appointment.   

 

Thank you,

 

Mike Hobson, Jr.

TPW License Manager

(512) 389-4477

 

From: 'Donathan, Kayla M' via RBFF States ListServ <statesdirect...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2024 8:48 AM
To: statesdirect...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [statesdirectmail-listserv] Fish Hatchery Security

 

 

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[Stephens, Keith]

From the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission assistant fisheries chief:

Kayla,

My name is Jason Miller and I oversee the hatchery system for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  I received your email regarding hatchery security and we have, unfortunately, had similar issues at some of our facilities. Biosecurity is a real concern at our indoor facilities and we try to maintain "authorized personnel/biosecurity measures in place" type signage at the main entrances to those facilities. We don't allow public access to these unless it is a scheduled walk through or a tour, typically for school groups. We will take the time to educate those groups on why and how we address biosecurity issues.   

Limited staffing has caused issues for us in the past. One of our warmwater hatcheries had a 4,500 square foot visitor center that did not have dedicated staff for it. We had frequent vandalism issues and eventually removed that building altogether because of the issues there. We are not mandated to provide full access, although we want to provide access and encourage the public to come out during business hours. We have gates and fencing at most of our facilities and have the ability to limit access if need be, but we try to keep them open during normal hours. We have had recent security issues at another facility that has forced us to keep that access closed to the public.  

All of our facilities are a little different and therefore have different security issues. The facilities that are fully fenced and gated have little to no issues. We are working with a company that will eventually provide key card access to all indoor facilities and offices on our hatcheries. We are implementing that system on a new office and production facility that is currently under construction. I anticipate all of our facilities will eventually be on the same system. I hate to hear you all are having issues and hope this information is helpful. Let me know if there is any way we can help.

Thanks,

Jason Miller  Assistant Chief - Fish Culture   AFS Certified Fisheries Professional

Keith Stephens

Chief Communications Division    Mobile: 501-951-3562 Office: 501-382-3758 Keith.S...@agfc.ar.gov | www.agfc.com 2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205

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[Gina Hunt -DNR-]

Interesting question. In MD:

Albert Powell Trout Hatchery is open to the public during posted hours,  M-F 9 - 4:30. We did close the facility to visitation during extremely low flow conditions to prevent additional stress to the fish. The other 4 hatchery facilities do not have public visitation hours, but can be contacted for hatchery tours as staff time permits.  We are not required to have them open to the public.

We did have an instance of tampering at Albert Powell that resulted in a loss of fish that was not able to be resolved with enforcement. Our hatcheries have both office staff and resident housing so someone is usually around to keep an eye on things. The upgrades scheduled at Albert Powell will include security cameras to monitor the area. We have used cellular cameras at our FMAs in cooperation with NRP to monitor illegal activity. Several cases have been made and as word got out, the nefarious activity has been greatly curtailed.

Hope that helps!

Gina Hunt 

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Gina Hunt Department of Natural Resources 580 Taylor Ave., E4 Annapolis, Maryland 21401 gina...@maryland.gov (410) 948-9836 (M)

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[Stoff, Barbara [DEP]]

Good afternoon, All.

 

This response is from the Superintendent of New Jersey’s largest fish hatchery, which also houses an Education Center in the front part of one of the buildings.  The same information holds true for our smaller hatchery, without the education center.

 

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Bio Security- Procedures and policies have been developed to prevent or minimize the introduction and transfer of pathogens within the NJDEP Fish and Wildlife fish culture operations.  Measures taken at the Pequest Trout Hatchery include restriction of visitors to peripheral areas of the facility, exclusion of outside equipment and vehicles from the nursery and raceway area, and disinfecting of any essential equipment which must be brought in from other areas.  Staff have several points they must disinfect their shoes in production areas.

 

Security- We have gates and restricted access points around the hatchery as well as security cameras in strategic locations. The Education Center is staffed during when open. The hatchery production portion is staffed 365days/7dayswk/24hrs.

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Let us know if you have any questions and I can put you in touch with either the Superintendent or someone else from Fisheries.

 

 

Barbara Stoff, CPM Administrative Analyst 4 -  Project Manager, Electronic License System New Jersey DEP Fish and Wildlife Office of Business Administration PO Box 420 - Mail Code 501-03 Trenton, NJ 08625 Phone: (office) New *** 609.940.7184 *** New as of 8/12/2024 Phone: (cell)  609-960-3801

Managing Your Fish and Wildlife Since 1892

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