David Roddy and Marilyn Davis have been honored by being named the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Fisheries Division’s biologist of the year and fisheries technician of the year, respectively.
The recipients of the award were announced and introduced during the September meeting of the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission held in Knoxville. Frank Fiss, TWRA Fisheries Division chief, made the presentations.
Mr. Roddy serves the agency as the Statewide Hatchery Coordinator and Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator. Davis serves on TWRA Region IV Fisheries staff at Eagle Bend Hatchery in Anderson County.
Mr. Roddy joined the TWRA in 1987 as a wildlife aide with the Region II Reservoir Management crew. He was promoted to manage the Springfield Fish Hatchery where for the next 23 years he worked with 17 different species of fish producing 20.5 million fingerling fish for Tennessee waters. He was the biologist of the year in 2006 for his production success and several pond renovations.
In 2012, he was promoted to his current position. He manages all production plans and prepares the annual hatchery reports. He plays a daily support role for the four cold water and seven warm water facilities across the state. Roddy is dedicated to using proven technology and aquaculture techniques to efficiently produce the highest quality fish.
Among his accomplishments, is he coordinated TWRA’s first intensive Florida largemouth propagation effort at Humboldt Hatchery, He has since written a manual about Florida largemouth bass production. In only its second year of operation the Humboldt Hatchery is nearing full production with the capacity to produce about one million fingerling bass. He also played a major role in constructing a walleye hatching facility at Sugar Creek.
Mr. Roddy currently serves as chair of the Southern Division American Fisheries Society (SDAFS), Aquaculture Technical Committee. In his role as the Aquatic Nuisance Species coordinator, he has coordinated efforts to relay the importance of preventing aquatic nuisance disease and to educate the public on the threat it poses for fisheries.
Ms. Davis joined the TWRA under the Young Adult Conservation program in 1978 and made the transition to a full-time technician at Eagle Bend Hatchery. She is credited with providing valuable assistance in every aspect of managing the hatchery.
Among her duties, she assists in spawning and producing more than five million fish larvae a year. She reports the number of fish shipped each week and submits all hatchery stocking reports. She also assists in stocking the fry into production ponds and provides weekly samples to document survival rates. Ms. Davis also handles all hatchery invoices and receipts.
Ms. Davis has continued to serve as the hatchery’s information center, conducting more than 25 tours each year and answering hundreds of calls in regard to stocking information and pond technical assistant. In addition, she has volunteered to take on the daily duties of caring for more than 750 snapping turtles which have been pit tagged and stocked to evaluate the agency’s age and growth project on this commercial species.