Conservation Fisheries Captive Propagation

Conservation Fisheries currently maintains around two dozen species of rare fishes at our facility. In addition, we culture several more common species as surrogates for endangered species we will be working with in the near future. This technique of using a relatively common surrogate was developed by Conservation Fisheries for working with extremely rare species and has proven its effectiveness in practice.

We maintain captive populations in a variety of free-standing and centralized-system aquaria in our facility. Where practical, these aquaria are designed to closely mimic the natural stream environment necessary to induce spawning in these species.

Captive propagation at our facility relies on two basic methods:

The first method involves the captive rearing of eggs or larvae collected directly from the native stream. Collected eggs and larvae are incubated and reared in a controlled environment in our facility. This technique allows for much greater survivorship among the young than they would enjoy in the wild. We raise the young to a size suitable for reintroduction to the parent's native stream environment.

We use this method with species such as smoky madtom and yellowfin madtom. Both have been induced, with difficulty, to spawn in our hatchery. Unfortunately, production by captive spawning alone cannot produce enough offspring to meet reintroduction needs. However, reasonably robust natural populations exist, from which we can remove a few nests each year. We are constantly working to improve captive spawning techniques for these and other madtom species.

Our second, and preferred, method of captive propagation involves bringing wild adult fish back to the lab and inducing them to spawn in aquaria. This can be done either by simulating stream conditions, or by using hormone treatments to stimulate maturation and spawning.

We culture the resulting eggs and rear the young for a variety of purposes including reintroductions, population enhancement, and toxicity testing. This method works well for many minnow and darter species. The development of captive breeding and rearing protocols is a time-consuming but ultimately rewarding task.

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