Mike wrote:
I frequently see mentioned on this Board the supposed savings that would be realized by stocking fingerling trout instead of adults. In a nutshell, the cost of one 11 inch adult trout raised and delivered to the stream is the same as the cost of four fingerlings. From a cost containment standpoint, to break even, you need one of each four fingerlings released (25% survival) to make it to the equivalent adult trout size if you are going to provide the same number of fish to be caught by anglers. Such fingerling trout survival rates in Pa are rare!!!. For the cost of fingerlings to be cheaper than adult stocking, the survival has to be even greater.
Based on data in the recently released PFBC report on production and stocking costs of fingerling and adult trout, in order to break even (be cost comparable) 25% of the 3.5 inch fingerlings or 34% of the 5 inch fingerlings stocked would need to survive to 11 inches in order to match the cost of an adult trout delivered to the stream or lake. An even higher % of larger "fingerlings," such as the 7 in. fish sometimes stocked in fall, would need to survive in order to break even with the adult trout stocking program. Fingerling survival rates of this magnitude, in my experience, have rarely been seen in Pa.
Fish & Boat Commission Releases Trout Cost Study
Approves Several Boating Facility Grants
Champion, PA — Results from a Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) stocked trout cost study show that the agency spends approximately $2.17 to produce an average adult trout, an amount less than that charged by commercial trout hatcheries. Overall, the Commission spends approximately $12.4 million per year to provide more than 6 million of the popular game fish, including fingerlings and adults.
“This is the first time we’ve undertaken a comprehensive examination of all the costs associated with our trout program,” said Executive Director Doug Austen, Ph.D. “This includes examining the expenditures from all bureaus as they relate to the trout program, such as engineering, law enforcement and fisheries management, and factoring in indirect costs like accounting and human resources.”
Staff made their presentation to commissioners during a Fisheries Committee meeting at the agency’s quarterly meeting, held April 20-21 at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort.
Dr. Austen said that the trout program production costs are competitive with retail prices at commercial hatcheries. The average price of similar sized adult trout from three Pennsylvania commercial trout farms was $2.57, compared to the PFBC cost of $2.17. The PFBC’s overall cost to produce, stock and manage an average adult trout is $2.73. Austen noted that this price includes delivery costs and other management costs the PFBC included in its analysis, such as habitat improvement efforts, environmental permit reviews and creel surveys.
Each season the Commission raises about 3.5 million 11-inch adult trout for stocking, 2 million to 4 million fingerlings for the put-grow-take fishery, and 1.2 million fingerlings for cooperative nurseries. It also raises about 20,000 trophy trout consisting of 2-3-year-old brood stock and 9,000 trophy golden rainbow trout. About $9.3 million (77 percent) of the total costs are spent on the adult trout portion of the program.