New York’s fishing industry contributes $5 billion annually to the state economy and supports an array of other public goods, including food security, mental health, social connection and wildlife conservation.
First established in 1864, the state’s fish hatchery system is the oldest in North America. Its 12 hatcheries, managed by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), annually produce 850,000 pounds of fish stocked into 1,200 waterbodies. Five years ago, as DEC leaders considered how to preserve and restore aging infrastructure, they turned to the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Cornell University.
“We were trying to figure out how to maximize fish production, sustainability, worker safety and satisfaction, all while minimizing costs,” said Michael Schiavone, assistant director of DEC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. “You can’t maximize and minimize all those things at the same time, so how do you strike the optimal balance? That’s really where the co-op unit comes in. They’re able to break a complex problem down into its component parts so you can make a difficult decision in a transparent way.”
Angela Fuller, leader of the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and professor in Cornell’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, helped guide DEC’s decision-making process. Her team and collaborators integrated fish production data, energy and sustainability principles, staff satisfaction metrics and operational costs to compare multiple hatchery system alternatives. State-based co-op units are a unique, federally administered research partnership program run by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Each unit is based at a land-grant university – in New York’s case, Cornell – where it is jointly supported by USGS, the host university, the state natural resource agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the nonprofit The Wildlife Management Institute. First established in Iowa in 1935, New York’s unit was founded in 1961. Forty-one states now host these cooperative research units. This partnership model provides a powerful bridge between academic science and on-the-ground conservation and management needs, Fuller said.
“Our process starts by clearly defining the problem and clarifying the objectives,” she said. “From there, we develop management alternatives that give our partners the best chance to achieve those objectives. Whether we’re focused on fish, deer, bobcats, birds, or any other species, our goal is always to understand the social and ecological challenges facing New York and to support the state’s people, wildlife, and ecosystems.”
The DEC announced in May that it will invest $100 million toward a fish hatchery modernization plan that will rebuild some facilities, install renewable energy at others and enable state wildlife officials to respond to climatic disruptions that are jeopardizing freshwater fish species. Funding comes from the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act that state voters passed in 2022.
“We knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really reimagine some of the ways these fish hatcheries could benefit the state,” Schiavone said. “The fish hatchery system doesn’t just provide fish for recreation purposes, it provides fish for restoration purposes. Where we have healthy, suitable habitats, we can use the hatchery system to restore species and populations that are under threat, such as round whitefish and heritage-strain brook trout.”
