A Minnesota fish hatchery facing challenges to fund updates
A rare public tour offered a behind-the-scenes look Saturday at the St. Paul State Fish Hatchery — the only state-operated fish hatchery in the Twin Cities metro.
The event, organized in partnership with the nonprofit MN-FISH, was designed to raise awareness about the aging facility and the need for major upgrades.
Genevieve Furtner, manager of the hatchery, said many people don't realize the important work happening behind the scenes.
"Yeah. So the tour was first and foremost just to get members of the public acquainted with the hatchery that we have in the metro," Furtner said. "A lot of people don't necessarily know about the hatchery and the work that we do here. So I love when I have the opportunity to be able to give people a glimpse of what's going on back there, to let them see it."
The St. Paul hatchery, which has been in operation for over a century, plays a critical role in Minnesota's fish production. In a record year, Furtner said she released about 45 million fish into state waters.
Still, she said aging infrastructure limits what the hatchery could fully offer.
"It's a really funny question asking, like, what could be done? Because, in a way, there's just so much that can be done," Furtner said. "It's really hard for me to even quantify specifically we need this and this and this."
Currently, the nearest full-size state hatchery is in Waterville, more than an hour south of St. Paul.
The nonprofit MN-FISH, which advocates for anglers across Minnesota, said the hatchery's outdated facilities highlight a larger issue.
"Fishing and boating is a $6.6 billion industry that affects our economy," said Mark Holsten, executive director of MN-FISH. "It's a $6.6 billion input into our economy that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for the state legislature to allocate to projects and to different programs."
Holsten said previous efforts helped secure funding to modernize hatcheries in Waterville and Crystal Springs, but more investment is needed to protect and grow Minnesota's fishing future.
"We just wanted to pull that curtain back, highlight and showcase to the anglers that their expectations... they got a chance to see it isn't being matched by the legislature to the levels we think they should be," Holsten said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages the hatchery. Furtner said while basic maintenance is covered through general fisheries funding, major upgrades require legislative action.
