TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF
WILDLIFE

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

Yerington , Nevada

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

OUR HATCHERY
The hatchery began construction in 1988 and opened for production in 1990 at a
cost of 8.1 million dollars with an annual cost of operation of $455,000 on average.
That breaks down to $2.00 per pound of fish, and .50cents per fish.
The funding for this hatchery came from sales from the Verdi hatchery, trout
stamp sales, and federal matching funds.
The Hatchery Crew
This is a full functioning facility, meaning we raise the fish from egg to
liberation.
The hatchery has a crew of 5 employees:
Supervisor
Assistant Supervisor
3 Technicians
The technicians are given areas of responsibility throughout the
hatchery.

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

The primary species raised

Pyramid Lake Cutthroat Trout
Independence Cutthroat Trout (Heenan Lake, California)
Sheep Creek Brown Trout (Gallagher Hatchery, Nevada)
Tasmanian Rainbow Trout ( Gallagher Hatchery, Nevada)
Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout ( Tenn. Or Montana NFH system)
Erwin Rainbow Trout ( Tenn. Or Montana NFH system)
Tahoe Rainbow Trout ( Marlette Lake, Lake Tahoe Nevada)

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

Our planting location around the state range from the upper
most North West corner to Walker Lake.

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

MASON VALLEY HATCHERY

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

Rainbow trout egg Daily Temperature Units (DTUs)
-A Daily Temperature Unit (DTU) is defined as:
- Every 1F above freezing (32F) for a 24-hour period.
-

- EXAMPLE: If the water temperature for a 24-hour period stays

constant at 50F, it would contribute 18 DTUs.
(50-32=18)
- EXAMPLE: If the water temperature for a 24-hour period
fluctuated from 48F for 12-hours, and 50F
for another 12-hours this would contribute
17 DTUs. (48-32)/(2)=8 + (50-32)/(2)=9
8+9=17
Dont worry about minor temperature
differences, for our purposes it is
not that critical.

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

When
will
they
hatch
?

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

Water
Temperature

35 F

40 F

45 F

50 F

55 F

Rainbow Trout
Days to hatch

80

48

31

24

DTUs

640

624

558

552

Brown Trout
Days to hatch

156

100

64

41

DTUs

468

800

832

738

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

FACTORS EFFECTING EGG DEVELOPMENT

LIGHT
-Direct sunlight or UV light will effect the development of the
eggs.
-The optimal thing to do is minimize there light exposure.

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

TEMPERATURE
-Fluctuation for developing eggs is a good thing within range.
2F to 3F is an optimal temperature variation.

TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM

OXYGEN
- The best condition for optimal egg development is at or near
100% saturation. To much Oxygen will cause gas bubble
disease. This is not a concern due to the systems we are using.

Cutthroat Trout Eggs

Eyed eggs
22 days old
@ 47 Degrees F

Cutthroat Trout Alevin(sac fry)

Sac

Fry
35 days old
@ 47 degrees F

Cutthroat Trout Sac Fry

Sac

Fry in late
development
44days
@ 47 Degrees F

Cutthroat Trout Fry

Fry
55 days
@ 47 Degrees F