(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Natural Resources Commission the purchase of a filter system for the Spirit Lake fish hatchery in Dickinson County to improve the production of muskellunge or muskies. D-N-R fisheries supervisor, Jay Rudacille says the hatchery has been facing challenges from gas supersaturation and zebra mussels. He says the gas supersaturation in the water they use from Big Spirit Lake is a natural phenomenon and caused up to 60 percent of the small fish to die, and 26 percent of the fish had deformities 2022.

The filter system will allow them alleviate the problems. Commissioners asked Rudacille about the cost for the system when only three-thousand fish are stocked in Iowa lakes. He says they do trade thousands of muskies that are not stocked for other species of fish.