The heart of the LIFE Streams project in the Park is certainly the place where the artificial reproduction of Mediterranean trout takes place, the management of the eggs and the first stages of growth of the newborn trout: we are talking about the Premilcuore hatchery.
Without this structure it would not be possible to guarantee an annual production of Mediterranean trout to be used, depending on conservation actions, for genetic reinforcement sowing or for the repopulation of areas previously eradicated by Atlantic trout.
The hatchery can also be a place where nature education and dissemination can be carried out: it is precisely with this aim that the structure’s layout has been renewed, also thanks to a GAL project carried out by the Municipality of Premilcuore in collaboration with the Park and the technicians involved in the management of the plant.
Today the hatchery is able to host school groups or simple groups of enthusiasts, eager to discover the world of the Park’s streams, the biodiversity and ichthyofauna characteristic of the Apennine streams, as well as the actions of the LIFE project.
Inside the structure we find the hatchery, fed by spring water and composed of troughs and tanks, useful for housing the eggs and growing the trout. Given the seasonality of the reproductive event in fish, the work is mainly concentrated in the first months of the year and it is generally possible to observe the newborns until June, the month in which they are released into the Park streams.
Outside the structure we also find the tanks in which the project’s reproducers are kept. Given the high difficulty, being “wild” animals and not selected for breeding, the number is very limited and the management is careful. The function of these animals is exclusively to propagate the species in the Park’s streams, as part of specific conservation projects.
