Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery enhances La Porte County

Originally constructed in 1974 to aid the propagation, or breeding, of salmonids – trout and salmon – the Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery is a key asset to La Porte County and the surrounding area fishing industry. In an area with many lakes, the fish industry is incredibly significant to the city and its local economy, which relies upon a hatchery for a portion of fish production.

“Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the local fish hatchery are a huge piece of this industry — not only for Lake Michigan, but also our inland lake activities,” said Jack Arnett, chief executive officer (CEO) of La Porte County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The hatchery creates four different breeds of fish through a process called artificial propagation, a process where employees at the hatchery manually mix gametes in a bucket or a tray to fertilize them. Some of the breeds include coho salmon, brown trout, Chinook salmon, and the Skamania steelhead.

To see the fish grow successfully, the hatchery waits patiently until the salmonids have hit proper weight and length milestones before transferring the fish into a new tank via nets. Transferring the fish is a careful process, as the ability to breathe is temporarily cut off as they’re moved. Speed and efficiency are top priority. If done too fast, the shock can risk impacting the well-being of the fish just as much as moving too slowly does.

Minimizing the impact on the well-being of the fish is top priority when moving them to a new home that better suits the new growth.

With the well-being of the fish in mind, the Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery is raising funds for a reservoir that will replace the current practice of using nets to transfer fish. A reservoir would replace the use of nets for transfers, and instead introduce waterways, which will keep the fish in the water as they make their way to new homes.

“The mortality rate of transferring fish with nets is much higher than transferring with a reservoir,” said Harry Stevens, hatchery volunteer and avid fisherman. “We hope to raise enough funds to purchase this reservoir.”

One of the area’s local fishing tournaments, the Port vs. Port tournament, is helping to raise funds to purchase the reservoir for the hatchery. The tournament is a fishing competition between La Porte County and Michigan City, and a fun way for the two areas of Northwest Indiana to showcase some lighthearted rivalry.

“We will compete against each other and fish between the two regions on Lake Michigan,” Stevens said. “I’m proud to say that La Porte County has won for the past three consecutive years.”

To learn more about the Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery visit its website here. To donate to the reservoir for the Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery, call (219) 369-9591.