It was so very good to get out of our "enforced stay" at Natalbany Creek and back on the road – the only
thing we'll miss is the wonderful, fresh seafood we've enjoyed.
After a four hour drive, much of it
over very rough interstate highway, we arrived at our new location. A
beautifully maintained Corps of Engineers park, Persimmon Hill,
underscored the dreariness of Natalbany.
We settled into our routine easily and
on our first full day took an exploratory drive partway around the
lake where we found an even nicer campground. I suspect we'll be
staying here again.
The nearest town of any size
(population 7,500) is Batesville, just a few miles away. We drove up
one day to scout it out, and do some shopping.
Rich bought a fishing license and spent
a quiet few hours trying for elusive bass and on the way back to camp
passed a pasture where he saw a brand-new calf and its mother near
the fence. He picked me up and we hurried back to watch for a while.
The North Mississippi Fish Hatchery is
located on the edge of the park on 58 acres the state leases from the
Corps of Engineers. The hatchery is a state-of-the-art facility that
cultures fish for Mississippi waters.
The
visitor center boasts a 10,000 gallon aquarium stocked with native
fish, and there are displays, interactive exhibits, artifacts, and an
art gallery. In addition to professional paintings, drawings by
school children are featured in the conference room. Rich especially
enjoyed a realistic interactive display that simulated reeling in a
fighting bass. It was the most fight he got out of a fish while we
were in Mississippi.
The
hatchery facilities include one-acre production ponds for holding
brood fish and different sized fingerlings, as well as raceways and a
catch-and-release pond for visitors.
The
hatchery cultures northern largemouth bass, Magnolia, white and black
crappie, southern walleye, redear sunfish, coppernose bluegill, both
channel and flathead catfish, grass carp, alligator gar and
paddlefish.
The
NMFH is a technologically advanced facility that relies on fishery
science to determine the precise process for culturing fish. The
process works to mimic the water temperature, light levels and other
factors that contribute to successful spawning in wild habitats. Fish
need shelter and spawning areas, so woody debris, gravel or even
Christmas trees can be added to a pond during construction or after
filling.
Depending
on the species, female fish produce from a few hundred to thousands
of eggs when spawning in the wild. The white crappie produces as many
as 40,000 eggs - only a few may be fertilized and begin to grow.
The
process of culturing fish may be a simple as allowing fish to
naturally spawn in ponds or require hatchery staff to hand strip
brood fish. For example, once hatchery staff determine a female brood
fish has ovulated, the staff strip the eggs by applying gentle
pressure to the fish's abdomen, releasing eggs into a bowl.
Simultaneously a male fish is squeezed to release milt over the eggs.
Fertilized eggs are then incubated at specific water temperatures in
a carefully controlled environment. The hatchery raises about two
million fish a year!
Now
it's on to Poole Knobs Recreation Area, LaVergne, TN.
No comments:
Post a Comment