Afield: Fish food mill fire in eastern Pennsylvania has local trout repercussions

On the evening of Feb. 15, a fire started in the second floor of Melick Aquafeed in Catawissa. A neighbor walking his dog saw flames and smoke pouring out of a roof vent. He called 911 and then alerted people inside to evacuate. A local fire company responded within minutes, but the Columbia County feed mill was completely engulfed in flames by that time.

Several other fire companies responded, and some were still on the scene a day later. The major fish food producer’s mill was a total loss.

Melick Aquafeed is one of only two trout food manufacturers in Pennsylvania — a member of what is a relatively small group of producers nationwide. According to Melick Vice President Michele Masala, one half to two thirds of the state’s 159 cooperative trout nurseries order their trout pellets from Melick. They are also a regular supplier of trout food for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

“The Commission budgets approximately $1.5 million for fish food each year,” said Tom Cochran, Southern Regional Hatchery manager. “We put bids out for fish food every quarter, and the lowest bidder is usually the Pennsylvania companies — Melick or Zeigler. I don’t anticipate a problem at present, but our cost will likely be higher.”

Cochran oversees six fish hatcheries, three of which are in Centre County. His hatcheries had already received their February order from Melick.

“We deeply regretted getting the news of the fire at Melick, and we are glad that everyone is safe,” said Chris Stock, global director of Aquaculture Sales at Zeigler Brothers Inc. “We know these people and they are part of the small family of fish food producers. They reached out to us when we experienced a fire 13 years ago, and Matt and Tim Zeigler reached out to Melick after this fire.”

Zeigler Brothers’ offices are in Gardners, Adams County, and they have two manufacturing facilities in southcentral Pennsylvania.

“We work in an industry where the animals have to be fed and we will do what we can to see that happen,” Stock said. “Zeigler has extra capacity to produce more fish food and increase our stock. I don’t think that there will be a shortage, but it is too early to tell. The lead time for orders might be increased and logistics will have to be worked out.”

Many cooperative nurseries used Melick as their only supplier of trout food and are now left scrambling for another source. According to Brian McHail, who oversees all cooperative nurseries for the Fish and Boat Commission, the fire should not be a problem for some co-ops because they are near the end of the feeding cycle. Most of the trout that are being raised will be stocked in March, April and May. It would depend on their food supply at the time of the fire.

“I was approached by several cooperative nurseries who were concerned about where they might go to place their next order,” McHail said. “I steered them in the direction of other companies.”

One of those concerned individuals was Cody Heintzelman, president of the Fiddler’s Run Sportsmen. Their Northumberland County cooperative nursery raises about 12,000 trout per year. The majority of Pennsylvania’s cooperative nurseries procured their food from Melick with good reason — it costs less for the smaller quantities that they used.

“I was stressing out trying to locate another supplier, and I found crazy-high prices for the food and then delivery charges on top of that,” Heintzelman said. “Because of shipping, the out-of-state places were way too high, so we placed an order from Zeigler.

“I am still stressed about the cost. We buy our fish food with a limited amount of money from donations and fundraisers. At this time of year, depending on the weather, we use about 40 bags a month, and we had been paying about $21 for a 50-pound bag. With Zeigler, it is $38 for a 44-pound bag.”

According to Bald Eagle Sportsmen cooperative nursery manager Tim Christine, the timing of the fire was unfortunate. Christine heads a Blair County operation, annually raising over 40,000 trout that are stocked in Centre and three other counties.

“We were getting low on trout food and I placed an order with Melick just before their fire,” Christine said. “After being contacted by Melick and told that they couldn’t fill the order, I spent the better part of a day calling companies, getting prices, and trying to make sure that we don’t run out of food.”

The Three Point Sportsmen in Clarence is the only cooperative trout nursery in Centre County. Association president Richard Biggans reports that the Three Point co-op has sufficient fish food to carry them through until their trout are stocked in the spring.

Don Anderson, a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commissioner, has been working with cooperative nurseries long before he became a commissioner. To get a better price, he purchases fish food for over a dozen co-ops in six counties.

“I called Melick shortly after the fire and then drove to Catawissa on Feb. 21 and bought 6,450 pounds — cleaning out their warehouse,” Anderson said. “I drove about 900 miles delivering food to nine of the co-ops — enough food to get them through until the end of March. After that, I don’t know what we will do. I told them that if they had ever thought about stocking more trout earlier, this might be a good year.”

Anderson said that his co-ops would need about 21,000 additional pounds to take them through May.

According to Masala, Melick has a long uncertain road ahead of them.

“It is just too early for me to comment on when and if we will rebuild and be back in business making fish food, he said.”

Another source at the company estimated that it could be as long as two years.

In the meantime, the 159 cooperative nurseries and the Fish and Boat Commission will face higher costs and possible fish food shortages. This in turn could affect trout production and ultimately trout fishing.