Exelon keeps Illinois waters teeming with hybrid striped bass
Press release submitted by Quad Cities Generating Station
Quad Cities and Clinton Station stock Mississippi River and Clinton Lake
CORDOVA, Ill. (June 24, 2010) – Anglers on the Mississippi River and at Clinton Lake (Clinton, Ill.) will find ample opportunity to try reeling in one of thousands of hybrid striped bass as a result of a restocking efforts at both locations during July.
Exelon Nuclear's Quad Cities Generating Station and Clinton Power Station will introduce approximately 10,000 fingerlings into the mighty Mississippi River and 50,000 fingerlings into Clinton Lake, respectively.
"We work hard to be responsible environmental stewards," said Jeremiah Hass, Quad Cities Station biologist. "We continue to work with local and state officials to stock the Mississippi River and various lakes in Illinois and Iowa to help the ecosystem and provide long-term stability to the bass population in the area."
The hybrid striped bass are reared entirely in tanks at the Quad Cities hatchery until their release to the site water canal in late March. The Quad Cities Station Fish hatchery began operation in 1983 as a joint project between Exelon Nuclear and Southern Illinois University. Since its inception, the hatchery has introduced more than six million new fish into various waters in Illinois and Iowa. The hatchery also breeds 175,000 walleye fingerlings annually.
The introduction of these hybrid fish improves the fishery at both locations and, at Clinton Lake, it has the side benefit of reducing the lake shad population.
Hybrid striped bass are a cross between striped bass and white bass. These are recreational fish and can reach 2 to 3 feet in length and weigh up to 20 pounds. The Mississippi River and Clinton Lake plus the surrounding recreation area are managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Quad Cities just north of Cordova, Ill. has two boiling water reactors, which jointly produce 1,793 net megawatts of carbon-free electricity.
Exelon Corporation is one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately $17 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry's largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 486,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.
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