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Coursey Springs hatchery closed for renovations
By Mike Bollinger • Staff Writer
 | | The current earthen raceway system at the Coursey Springs trout hatchery will be replaced by concrete-bottomed, stainless steel tanks once renovations to the facility are complete. Work is expected to be complete in December 2009. (Recorder photo by Mike Bollinger) |
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WILLIAMSVILLE - The Coursey Springs fish hatchery in northern Bath County, Virginia's largest producer of catchable trout, closed for renovations June 1 and will remain closed for the next 18-24 months.
Coursey Springs provides 30 percent of the trout stocked in all rivers and streams by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said Ron Southwick of VGDIF. Southwick said it would be two and one-half to three years, or two stocking seasons, before catchablesize trout will come from Coursey Springs. "All stocking locations will see a proportional reduction," he said.
Southwick explained that while the $11 million construction project will take 18-24 months, it will take an additional year to raise fish to the minimum one-half pound catchable size. The state raises more than 1 million catchable-size trout each year. In addition to the Bath facility, trout are raised in Craig, Nelson, Smyth and Wythe counties. Other fish are produced in Campbell, King and Queen, Smyth and Warren counties.
 | | Work is under way on extensive renovations at the Coursey Springs trout hatchery off Indian Draft Road in northern Bath County. Chris Schaffer (operating backhoe), Richard McClung, left, and John Nottingham were working on a silt fence Monday. They are with Plecker Construction Co. of Staunton. |
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Fishing areas in Virginia are rated according to which have the best streams, the best water and the most fishing pressure. Those that are rated highest will see a smaller reduction in stocking while Coursey Springs is closed and lower-rated areas will see a proportionally higher reduction, Southwick said.
Waters rated as Category A, the highest, will get six stockings from October to May while the renovations are taking place. Category B areas will go from five to four stockings and Category C, delayed harvest and urban waters will get two stockings annually. The renovations should not affect fishing until spring and summer 2009.
Southwick said the state is hopeful construction will be completed by December 2009. Fish will return to the hatchery soon after completion, he said. "It will take nine to 12 months after that for fish to get to stocking size. Contractors are on site, and barring an unusual amount of bad weather, we are hopeful the project can remain on schedule," he said.
Before the renovations, Coursey Springs produced about 220,000 pounds of trout each year, or about 325,000-350,000 fish. Southwick said the new facility would increase the output by about 100,000 pounds. "That is about a 50 percent increase in production. The individual fish should be larger and healthier as well," Southwick said.
The facility was built more than 40 years ago on what Southwick called a "shoestring budget." Coursey Springs has been a mostly earthen structure of raceways that have been difficult to maintain and leave the fish vulnerable to predators. "The banks are caving in, and we are having problems with muskrats getting into the banks. The raceways are also becoming harder and harder to keep clean," Southwick said. "With the current series of raceways, if you get a sick fish you have disease all the way through."
In the new facility, fish will be raised in concretebottomed, stainless steel tanks. Southwick said plans call for 20, 20-foot circular tanks as well as 20, 40-foot circular tanks. Each tank will have an independent water supply and will be covered to reduce losses to predators. The new equipment will enhance the ability to add oxygen to the water, Southwick said. Should a disease show up in one tank, it can be confined to that tank.
Coursey Springs has the largest water source of any hatchery, and the springs that feed the facility will be boxed and covered to prevent growth of water plants and also to help prevent possible water contamination, Southwick said. The downstream area will also be improved. Water from Coursey Springs falls into Spring Run and then into the Cowpasture River.
"We plan to make Spring Run cleaner than ever," Southwick said. "The new facility will include treatment for the discharge from the hatchery to remove nutrients and waste."
Southwick said Spring Run will be widened and the banks reshaped. This will increase water flow. "This will be a nicer fishing water when we are done," he said. While the renovations are taking place, Spring Run will be closed to fishing.
Coursey Springs has always been open to the public, and this will not change once renovations are complete. Visitors will be able to view the tanks and fish once the facility reopens.
For more information on Virginia fishing and the state's trout stocking program, visit www.dgif.virginia.gov.
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