Rainbow Trout: Its History

We invite you to discover the fascinating journey of the rainbow trout. From its natural habitats to global distribution – learn about the evolution and significance of this extraordinary species that has captured the hearts of anglers and gourmets worldwide.

Also in Polish lands, especially in the Austrian partition (Galicia), the first trout hatcheries and fishing facilities known at that time as "trout farms" were established during this period. The first hatchery was founded in Dubie near Krakow in 1850 on the Szklarka stream (a tributary of the Rudawa and further of the Vistula) by doctor Jan Radziwoński. According to Dr. Władysław Kołder (photo 1), the first Polish author of a textbook on rainbow trout farming in ponds (1948), the capacity of the hatchery in Dubie was initially 200,000 eggs, while the total area of the ponds did not exceed 1 hectare.

Since 1988, by decision of the American Fisheries Society, the rainbow trout has finally been classified under the genus Oncorhynchus, adding the original species name mykiss. This long history of changes in the systematic classification of the discussed fish reflects the immense variability and plasticity of this species. This is largely due to the very wide range of the species' distribution. Indeed, as early as the 1930s, based on varied coloration, body shape, and meristic features, as many as 15 species of rainbow trout were distinguished. Currently recognized as separate species are:

– Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki),

– Golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita),

– Mexican golden trout (Oncorhynchus chrysogaster).

Photo 1. Doctor Władysław Kołder (1905–1976), born in Zabłocie in Cieszyn Silesia (Zaolzie), a graduate of Jagiellonian University in Kraków (1928), one of the pioneers of modern rainbow trout farming in Poland during the interwar period, a long-time fishing inspector in the Agricultural Chambers in Katowice, Kielce, and Kraków, and a research worker at the Department of Water Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków until retirement. Author of over 80 works, including the first Polish monograph (1948) on the breeding and rearing of trout in ponds.

Between 1870 and 1877, several trout hatcheries were established, including in Lipowa, Złatna, and Rycerka (Beskid Żywiecki), in 1879 on the outskirts of Krakow by the Rudawa River, and in 1881 in Złoty Potok near Janów Częstochowski. Small trout hatcheries, with a few ponds, were also created in the late 19th century in the Silesian Beskids. The oldest was founded by the Habsburg Cieszyn Chamber in Brenna (1872), while a slightly younger hatchery was in Wisła-Czarny (1877), which, thanks to the local highlanders, supplied trout to the royal and imperial court in Budapest and Vienna until the First World War.

A little later, small hatcheries (now defunct) were established in Tyra (1890) in Zaolzie, in Istebna (1892), and in Ustroń (1896). From around 1898, there was also a little-known trout hatchery in Strumień in the so-called Frog Country (Cieszyn Silesia). Its owner and breeder was Karol Weigel, alongside Professor Maksymilian Siła-Nowicki and Tomasz Dubisch, one of the first honorary members of the Moravian Regional Fishing Society. In the 1980s and 1990s, additional hatcheries were established in Kamesznica and Rycerka by the Soła River, in Sucha Beskidzka, Czorsztyn, Myślenice, Poronin, Ruskiej Wsi, Poręba, Sanok, Ruda Różaniecka, and in faraway Stryj.

Origin of the species

The trout as a species was first described in 1792 by Walbaum in East Asia (Kamchatka), as Oncorhynchus mykiss, and then specimens from the Columbia River were described in 1836 by Richardson, as Salmo gairdneri, while in 1855 Gibbson described rainbow trout as Salmo iideus. Over time, many other authors described the rainbow trout, assigning it several other Latin names.

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) creates two main forms in its environment: migratory and resident. The migratory form of the rainbow trout, known as steelhead, spends its juvenile life stage in rivers and its feeding and rapid growth period in the sea, after which it returns to freshwater to spawn. The resident form (shasta) spends its entire life in freshwater.

Range of occurrence

The natural range of the rainbow trout extends across the western part of North America—from the Kuskokwim River (Alaska, at 61° latitude) to the watershed of the Del Presidio River in Mexico (24° latitude), and in Asia, it pertains to the rivers of western and eastern Kamchatka.

Due to human activities, rainbow trout now inhabit all continents except Antarctica. Their range extends from the Arctic Circle in the north (Alaska, Sweden, Norway), through the equator (Kenya, Uganda, Ecuador), down to 55° south latitude in Argentina.

Global history of rainbow trout introduction

The origin of the trout that were the subject of the first acclimatization and breeding efforts in the states of North America is, according to many authors, highly controversial. The first introduction of the rainbow trout occurred in 1875, transporting trout eggs from California to New York. Reports from the U.S. Fish Commission and California Acclimatization Society indicated that the first batches of rainbow trout eggs did not come from the McCloud River (which happened only in 1878) but from rivers flowing into San Francisco Bay. Between 1888 and 1900, the aforementioned commission (U.S. Fish Commission) organized the collection of steelhead eggs from the Klamath, Willamette, and Rogue rivers in Oregon as well as from Redwood Creek in California. The intensification of egg collection was presumably due to the immense demand at that time, resulting from intensified efforts to acclimatize the species.

By the end of the 19th century, attempts to introduce rainbow trout, mostly successful, included all of the then states of the USA (except Florida) and most European countries.

Thus, starting from 1875, the rapid career of this species began. Just two years later, this trout was brought to Japan, in 1882 to Germany, in 1883 to New Zealand, and in 1884 to England. In the initial period (1882 and 1886), both the resident and migratory forms of this species were introduced to Europe, and in 1889, a separate species, the Cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki), today named Oncorhynchus clarki, was also introduced. From these forms, local forms of rainbow trout developed in Europe.The stocking efforts conducted until the 1920s aimed at acclimatizing this species, mainly due to its rapid growth rate, achieved sizes (body weight), and valued fishing qualities. According to Bradford's data (1982), this is evidenced by fishing results in numerous lakes (e.g., Lake Taupo and rivers in New Zealand), where after 1911, increasingly more rainbow trout were caught, replacing the previously smaller brook trout (Salmo trutta m. fario L.).Rainbow trout were most likely introduced to Poland between 1881 and 1889 in the areas of the then Prussian partition, and to Galicia in the Austrian partition between 1891 and 1910, although many authors dispute the exact dates (Kołder 1948; Hurt 1960; Matlak 1960; Szczygielski 1967; Stok 1979; Śliwiński 2012). According to Goryczka, the most likely assumption is that the first batch of rainbow trout eggs from across the ocean reached the Prussian partition no later than 1882, thanks to the active naturalist, angler, and ichthyologist Max von Borne (1826–1894), who brought the brook trout and possibly the rainbow trout to his fishery center in Barnówko (West Pomerania).The acclimatization efforts at that time, conducted both in Poland and in other European countries, were based on much earlier achievements in salmon and brook trout breeding. Records from the 15th century by the French monk Don Pinchon, who knew the method of trout breeding but did not pass it on to others, are known. It is known that the landowner Stephen Ludwig Jacobi from Hohenhausen (1709–1784) artificially fertilized trout eggs starting in 1725. In 1733, many scholars (including Benecke 1880) reported successful attempts at artificial reproduction of trout. It was not until 1837 that John Shaw in Scotland, and in 1843 Joseph Remy and Antoin Géhin from La Brasse in the Vosges and Jacob Sandungen in Ecker (Norway), independently experimented with artificial fertilization of trout eggs.). From these forms, local forms of rainbow trout developed in Europe.

Stockings of up to 20% of the species were carried out daily to acclimate this category, due to its rapid growth rate, size (body weight), and valued angling characteristics. Bradford's (1982) data come from fishing trips in lakes (e.g., Lake Taupo and existing rivers) where, after 1911, increasing numbers of rainbow trout were caught, replacing the previously smaller brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario L.).

Rainbow trout were most likely introduced to Poland between 1881 and 1889, to the divided Prussian partition, and to Galicia in the Prussian partition between 1891 and 1910. The dates are disputed by many sources (Kołder 1948; Hurt 1960; Matlak 1960; Szczygielski 1967; Stok 1979; Śliwiński 2012). According to Goryczka, the most likely assumption is that the first rainbow trout eggs from overseas reached the Prussian partition no earlier than 1882, due to the presence of natural trout by the angler and ichthyologist Max von Borne (1826–1894), who introduced brook trout and probably rainbow trout to his own pond in Barnówek (Western Pomerania). The acclimatization effect of that time, occurring both in Poland and other European countries, resulted from the emergence of salmon and brown trout breeds. There are known records by the 15th-century French monk Don Pinchon, which correspond to trout breeding methods, but are not used elsewhere. It is known that the landowner Stephen Ludwig Jacobi of Hohenhausen (1709–1784) artificially inseminated trout eggs from 1725. In 1733, many scholars (including Benecke 1880) reported successful attempts at regular trout breeding. in 1837 John Shaw in Scotland, and in 1843 Joseph Remy and Antoin Géhin from La Brasse in the Vosges and Jacob Sandungen in Ecker (Norway), each experimenting with a solution, automatic artificial insemination of trout eggs.

All these achievements as early as 1852 (and according to Goryczka even in 1850), thanks to the financial assistance of Emperor Napoleon III, led to the establishment in Hünningen (eastern France) of a center for the production of fish stocking materials for salmonids, including the rainbow trout. From 1852 to 1905, after the Franco-German war and the incorporation of the region with the trout facility into Germany, this center was successfully managed by Director Haak. He played a significant role in the import of the first brook trout to Europe (1870) and American rainbow trout (1881). The aforementioned Haak also became known as the first promoter and director of fishing training courses in Germany. The scientific supervisor of this center was the well-known embryologist Prof. Coste, a member of the French Academy and author of many scientific publications, including "On Fishing." As a result, in the second half of the 19th century, a rapid development of salmon and rainbow and brook trout production was initiated in Europe.

Photos 6a and 6b. Piotr Abako - founder of the Salmonid Fish Breeding Center in Rychnowska Wola

The co-creators of success were not only all those mentioned, but also a much larger group of breeders and friends who should be collectively honored, especially the one who has always been with the trout fishers, the creator of an atmosphere of goodwill and camaraderie – the venerable Professor Stanisław Bontemps († 1925).

The essential factors for the successful development of Polish trout farming were the exemplary cooperation of all participants in this emerging industry. Thus, the theoretical and challenging foundations for the construction of facilities are owed to Julian Wieniawski from the Inland Fisheries Institute, while the principles of breeding were described in an accessible manner by the aforementioned Bernard Gliszczyński, George Łękawski, and Adam Piller, an advocate for rainbow trout (and carp) farming in Lesser Poland, and a long-time fisheries inspector of the Voivodeship National Council in Krakow.

This period up to the end of the 1980s was characterized by dynamic growth in trout production, which in 1978 exceeded the magical threshold of 1,000 tons for Poland at that time, reaching 3,000 tons in 1986 and 9,000 tons in 1998. The years 2005–2008 were record-breaking in this regard, when trout production in Poland surpassed 17,000 tons. Our country became a powerhouse and the ninth largest producer of trout in Europe.

Professor Krzysztof Goryczko, a long-time president of the Association of Salmonid Fish Farmers, creator and head of the scientific center of the Salmonid Fish Breeding Department in Rutki, which belongs to the Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn named after Stanisław Sakowicz, a respected educator and scientist at UWM in Olsztyn, reflects on this period from today’s perspective: "The fundamental factors for the development of this industry were the enthusiasm, knowledge, and consistent efforts of surprisingly many people who laid the foundations, built, and continue to develop Polish trout farming."

After the anglers, the initiative and responsibility for the development of trout farming were taken over by employees of state fisheries and so-called private entrepreneurs. Among the pioneers of the former group were the already mentioned Bernard Gliszczyński, Janusz Latanowicz, and Konstanty Bortkiewicz, actively supported by Stefan Kosmulski, Józef Tylenda, Edward Kraus, Marek Bartusz, Jóef Wandtk, and Andrzej Marczyński. Following their example were Olsztyn ichthyologists: Lech Kotowicz, Jan Stafiniak, and Władysław Gilarski, while the initiatives were backed from Warsaw by chief Andrzej Galli, and later Witold Milczarzewicz (1940–2010).

The activities of the mentioned individuals were mainly recalled by graduates of the former Faculty of Fisheries at WSR-ART in Olsztyn (1951–1999): Roman Aszyk, Jacek Niewęgłowski, Piotr Gumowski, Jerzy Szarkowski, Bogusław Karaś, Antoni Pirtania, Krzysztof Grecki, Jacek Farenholc, Andrzej Marczyński, as well as by ladies: Lidia Pirtania, Halina Wiśniewska, Bożena Kacperska, and others.

This also applies to the pioneers of private breeding, including Tadeusz Nowicki, Jan Łabęcki, Zenon Krysiński, Janusz Skołysz, Antoni Wawer, Piotr Abako (Photos 6a and 6b), Piotr Gabriel, Jacek Juchniewicz, Marek Piszczała (Photo 7.), Józef Łempio, and Dariusz Gorbaczow.

The first director was Jan Jokiel, and from 1959, Ryszard Bartel. At this facility, the first granulated feeds for trout in Poland were developed and implemented, along with a method for controlling the spawning period of rainbow trout, as well as a method for winter incubation and rearing of autumn-spawning rainbow trout until the mid-1980s.

Contemporary Pioneers

The Polish Angling Association played a significant role in establishing the foundations of Polish trout farming. In the 1960s, this organization had the most modern facilities for rearing salmonids in Poland, located in Łopuszna, Rożnów, Porąbka (Małopolskie Voivodeship), Czarcim Jarze (Masuria), and in Rumia near Gdynia. There, engineers Ryszard Maliszewski, Marek Bartusch, Kazimierz Krasowski, and Mieczysław Kowalewski gained practical knowledge, to whom we owe today's successes in Polish salmonid aquaculture. Jerzy Palladino and Wojciech Brudziński, employees of the Main Board of the Polish Angling Association, regularly organized specialized foreign trips and domestic training for ichthyologists from the association.

In 1955, at the initiative of Prof. Stanisław Sakowicz, a River Field Laboratory was opened in Gdańsk-Oliwa, belonging to the Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn (Photo 4.). This facility was located on the site of an old hatchery (19th century), which belonged to the local forestry. Its purpose was to conduct research and implement technologies for breeding salmonid fish and cultivating rainbow trout.

The text, images (1-5 and 7-8), and captions under the images are from the book "Quality of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum 1792) on technologies used in Poland. Testing of trout production technologies used in Poland in light of Commission Regulation (EC) No 710/2009" edited by: Józef Szarek, Krystyna A. Skibniewska, Janusz Zakrzewski, Janusz Guziur.

Images 6a and 6b are from a private archive.

Photo 8. Professor Dr. hab. Eng. Krzysztof Goryczko (lecture at the inauguration of the academic year 2006/2007 at UWM in Olsztyn)

Photo 7. Marek Piszczała (first from the left) together with Prof. Janusz Guziur in front of the hatching and rearing facility from 1881 in Złoty Potok

Photo 5. Master Engineer Mieczysław Kowalewski - a well-known practitioner and long-time manager of the trout center PZW in Łopuszna and Czarny Dunajec

Photo 4. The Field River Laboratory of IRŚ in Gdańsk-Oliwa (1970s)

Fig. 3. Bernard Gliszczyński (1919–1979) – a pioneer of trout breeding in Pomerania (1960s)

The dissemination of fishing knowledge, including trout farming, has been greatly aided by the industry magazine "Gospodarka Rybna" (1949–1991), whose tradition is continued by "Przegląd Rybacki" (Poznań) and "Magazyn Przemysłu Rybnego" (Gdynia), as well as the Independent Laboratory for the Dissemination of Progress at IRS in Olsztyn, led for many years by Jerzy Waluga († 1929).

The educational and training contributions of graduates and staff from the Faculty of Fisheries at WSR-ART in Olsztyn, since its establishment in 1951 to the present day (operating within the structures of UWM since 1999), are also significant. Annual editions of the Salmonid Fish Breeders Conference, initiated by Prof. Ryszard Bartel within the framework of NOT and later organized by the Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn, also serve to exchange professional experiences, integrate, and strengthen collegial ties.

Photo 2. The Fish Stocking Center of PZW in Łopuszna on the Dunajec River (1960s)

Despite the outbreak of war and the period of occupation, this center, established in the highland style (according to the design of architect B. Treter), was opened on July 18, 1942, and is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary of operation. To this day, the founding act of this center has been preserved, which was dedicated after liberation, on August 9, 1948, and among those who participated in its opening ceremonies were well-known professors: Walery Goetel, Stanisław Żarnecki, Franciszek Hendzel, and Bronisław Romaniszyn.

The intensified cultivation of rainbow trout for consumption (commercial) most likely began only in the 1940s with the construction of a model trout center in the Będkowska Valley (Małopolskie Voivodeship, Kraków County), which was also intended as a training center. This center had a hatchery and a complete set of ponds with a full production cycle, whose final production amounted to 10 tons of commercial (consumable) fish.

The period after the Second World War

The country's trout production until the 1950s and 1960s was relatively small (up to 200–300 tons per year) and traditionally concentrated in the hilly and mountainous areas of southern Poland (mainly Małopolskie Voivodeship).

However, by the end of the 1960s, there was rapid development of rainbow trout farming in the northwestern regions of Poland, which were sparsely populated, devoid of industry, with numerous and clean waters of rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea. This initiative developed successfully there, especially thanks to the enthusiasm of ichthyologists from the State Fishing Farm and the Polish Angling Association in Słupsk and Koszalin. The development of Polish trout farming was significantly contributed to by its pioneers: Bernard Gliszczyński (1914–1979) (Photo 3.) – an excellent practitioner, Janusz Latanowicz (1928–2011) – a long-time director of the State Fishing Farm in Słupsk, and Konstanty Stefan Bortkiewicz (1919–2010) – director of the State Fishing Farm in Bydgoszcz, as well as many other practitioner ichthyologists.

The more dynamic development of Polish trout farming only occurred after 1904, when another batch of fertilized rainbow trout eggs was imported from Sweden to Złoty Potok, primarily intended for the production of trout for stocking streams. Along with the establishment of trout hatcheries and the stocking of streams at the end of the 19th century in the region of Lesser Poland (Galicia) and Austrian Silesia, exclusive Polish sports fishing clubs began to emerge. At the initiative of Zygmunt Fischer, the first modern sports fishing club was established in Krakow in 1896, recorded as the Krakow Fishing Club. Since 1906, there was also the Society of Fishing Sports Enthusiasts in Krakow, promoting among other things, trout hatchery and stream stocking. In 1907, a fishing club was founded in Czarny Dunajec, in 1914 in Rzeszów, in 1917 in Nowy Sącz and Warsaw, and in 1921, the Hunting and Fishing Society was established in Cieszyn.

The 1930s and 1940s in the development of trout farming in Poland

The 1930s yielded the construction of additional stocking centers in Folusz (1930), Zawada (1932), Ojców and Czatkowice (1934), Olszówka (1936), and Zawoja under Babia Góra (1937). During this time, in 1936, at the initiative of Professor Bronisław Romaniszyn, a musician from the Conservatory in Katowice and also the president of the National Fishing Society in Krakow, the idea of building a stocking center and a Fishing Culture House in Łopuszna by the Dunajec River was conceived (photo 2.). This was to be compensation for future losses in salmonid fish stocks (!) after the planned damming of the Dunajec River in Rożnów and Czorsztyn, despite the anticipated construction of fish passes.

Abako Trout Farm

Hodowla Pstrąga Abako

hodowla.pstraga.teczowego@wp.pl

+48 535-467-679

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