DNR photo An aerial view of Thompson State Fish Hatchery in Manistique with Lake Michigan in the background.

MANISTIQUE — For nearly a century, the Thompson State Fish Hatchery, in Manistique, has been a fish-production workhorse, turning out the millions of fish needed to satisfy both management goals and anglers’ recreation needs. But the wear and tear of time takes a very real toll; key facility components were showing signs of aging, and replacement parts were getting increasingly difficult to find.

In partnership with the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget and the design and engineering consultant HDR, the DNR completed renovations in late spring 2021.

Fish production took off, and the engineering industry took notice — the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan recently recognized the Thompson State Fish Hatchery project, along with the Little Manistee River Weir upgrades, with its prestigious Engineering and Surveying Excellence Merit Award.

“Notable renovations include the new raceway feeding system and significant upgrades to the electrical distribution system, including a new backup generator and construction of a new coolwater fish production facility,” said Ed Eisch, DNR fish production manager. “The improvements to the existing facility will benefit chinook salmon and steelhead production for decades to come, while the new coolwater facility will provide a much needed boost to statewide production of walleye and muskellunge.”

Two light-skinned, palms-up hands hold a single, slender, silvery fish with dark gray spots

The coolwater facility includes:

– A hatchery building that has a biosecure room for receiving and disinfecting eggs.

– An egg incubation and hatching room with several tanks for receiving hatched walleye fry.

– A lined pond complex.

All rearing water is supplied by two new production wells. The incubation water can be heated or chilled to manage the timing of fry hatching, and the electrical infrastructure is backed up with a generator that starts automatically if primary power is lost.

The pond complex, which includes two 1-acre, lined ponds and four half-acre, lined ponds, are designed to produce up to 250,000 spring fingerling walleyes and 18,000 fall fingerling muskellunge each year. The production ponds are covered by netting to keep out predators. A lined solar pond will allow introduction of passively preheated water to the rearing ponds, which will avoid causing thermal shock to the fish.

Eisch said the ponds were put into muskellunge production in summer and fall 2021 and performed even better than expected – more than 20,000 fall fingerling muskellunge were harvested and stocked in November.

“The fish were healthy and robust, and the harvest operation went very smoothly,” he said. “The staff is looking forward to using the ponds for walleye production this spring.”