[Michael82929]

Originally Posted by Dave B.

Unfortunately there are very few waters in NJ where such a program would be feasable. This is by far primarily due to thermal issues. Water temps were the driving force behind the DIV's decision to alter the pond/lake stocking regimen, particularly for central and south NJ, to begin the in-season stockings on week 1 and run the first 3-4 weeks consecutively rather than starting on week 2 and having a staggered or alternating week schedule.

Ponds and lakes aside we all know that nearly all NJ streams become too warm to readily support trout during the summer months. Even those that do maintain suitable temps are still in the mid to upper 60's, which given the 48 +/- degree temp of the water from the hatchery wells that the fish reside in and is also used to fill the trucks, the fish would most likely die from thermal shock within a very short time after being stocked.

One other major issue with such a program would be the impact on the entire rearing process at the hatchery. The timing of the stockings in conjunction with the growth and space transfer requirements of the whole production process simply do not allow for retaining a large volume of fish in the hatchery for such an extended period.
This cycle of production was the greatest logistic hurdle the staff at Pequest had to overcome when the decision was made to shift to the larger 2year-old fish for the fall stockings some years ago. The hatchery has a finite amount of space that can only sustain a given amount of biomass whether it's a large volume of smaller fish or a small volume of larger fish. Doing the calculations to determine what was do-able in a practical sense took some time and several re-adjustments to the figures to come up with a feasable and practical course of action.

x2 with what Dave said.