South Otselic Fish Hatchery Fish Culturist 2 Mike Speziale, and Fish Hatchery Manager and Fish Culturist 3 William Woodworth stand near the South Otselic Fish Hatchery where they will grow thousands of fish which are distributed throughout New York State’s bodies of water each year. (Photo by Zachary Meseck)

OTSELIC – The South Otselic Fish Hatchery has a nearly 100-year-old history in its area, providing fish all over New York State and representing the Otselic community on a larger scale.

According to South Otselic Fish Hatchery Fish Culturist 2 Mike Speziale, the hatchery originally began as a bass hatchery, but has continued to grow since its inception. Speziale said the most recent construction project began in 2016 which involved the replacement of pond outlet structures and the combining of the earthen ponds used to grow out walleye fry.

“I’ve been here around 13 years all together, I know the hatchery started in the early 1930’s originally as a bass hatchery,” said Speziale. “The old building remains on the site as storage, and the current building was constructed in the mid-1980’s.”

“For anyone who doesn’t know what we do, there are certain species of fish that are highly sought after by sport fishermen that are in some decline, and we are here to increase the population of those fish in our waters.”