The Maricao Fish Hatchery (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Vivero de Peces de Maricao''), also known as the Insular Fish Hatchery (''Criadero Insular de Peces''), is a historic 3.32 acre

fish hatchery A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...

located along the Río Rosario in the

Maricao Afuera Maricao Afuera is a barrio in the municipality of Maricao, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,076. History Maricao Afuera was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under t ...

district (''barrio'') of the Puerto Rican municipality of

Maricao Maricao () is a town and the second-least populous municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central. It is a small town set around a small square in hilly terrain, north of San Germán, Sabana Grande and ...

, within the

Maricao State Forest Maricao State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Maricao'') is a state forest located in the western Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as ''Monte del Estado'' because it was one of the first forest reserves in Pu ...

jurisdiction. The hatchery is located at approximately above sea level, 1.2 kilometers from downtown Maricao.

History

The Maricao Fish Hatchery was established in 1937 on three segments of land originally measuring approximately 4 acres along the

Maricao River The Maricao River () is a river of Maricao and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. See also *List of rivers of Puerto Rico List of rivers in Puerto Rico ( U.S. Commonwealth), sorted by drainage basin and then alphabetically. There are 47 main rivers and 24 ...

on the northern edge of the Maricao State Forest Reserve by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC) for the Insular Forest Service, and under the direction of Dr. Samuel F. Hildebrand of the Departments of

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

. The original district consisted of six buildings and additional infrastructure built using stone and concrete as construction materials. The hatchery facilities officially opened in January 1938, and it represents the introduction of recreation fishing or sport fishing in Puerto Rico. The

Government of Puerto Rico The government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since 1952, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. Under a system of separation of powers, the ...

added an additional 2.75 acres for the hatchery in 1940, and by 1942, the expanded fish hatchery facilities included large grow-out ponds for breeding fish (particularly

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

) and sixteen smaller ponds for breeding of

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s. At a later date, another grow-out pond was added in the northern segment, west of the original ponds. Reconstruction of these facilities were undertaken between the years 1998 and 2000 after considerable damages caused by

Hurricane Georges Hurricane Georges () was a powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making seven landfalls along its path. Georges was the seventh tropical storm ...

, which devastated the island in September 1998. At a later date, a visitor parking was built on a lot across the Maricao River. This visitors parking is not included within the district's boundaries. Today the property is administered by the

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) () is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in P ...

. Although the fish hatchery is no longer operational, this district retains integrity of location, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling and association. For this reason, it was added to the

United States National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2017.

Buildings and structures

The Maricao Fish Hatchery historic district has been included in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since February 21, 2017, as it is a prime example of the

New Deal Era Constructions in the Forest Reserves of Puerto Rico New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

, a collection of historic sites built by the

on multiple protected natural areas of Puerto Rico between 1933 and 1942. The fish hatchery historic district includes 28 buildings, structures and resources, out of which 18 are inscribed as

contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...

. In addition to the hatchery ponds, tanks and water channels, the ''Vivero de Peces'' historic district consists of an entrance bridge built by the CCC in 1938, a historic entrance stone marker, a series of gazebos and the main administration office buildings. The buildings and structures built after the year 1966 are not included in the historic district designation.

References

{{Reflist Maricao, Puerto Rico Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures completed in 1938 Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Fish hatcheries in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico 1938 establishments in Puerto Rico Civilian Conservation Corps in Puerto Rico Agricultural buildings and structures in Puerto Rico