How do you transport two 2,200-pound whale sharks?

In 2006, the two 13-foot long females, named Trixie and Alice, made an 8,000-mile trip from Taiwan to Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium in a specialized tank. United Parcel Service moved them by plane and by truck.They aren't the largest critters transported to an aquarium; a female gray whale named J.J. holds that distinction. J.J., who was found beached and rescued by Florida's Sea World in 1997, was 31 feet long and weighed 19,200 pounds when she was returned to the wild supported in a special sling within a tractor trailer and then a United States Coast Guard cutter called Conifer a year later.The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission would like your help stocking about three million trout. The stocking truck driver and a Fish & Boat Commission district officer are the only state employees involved in moving and stocking the fish; volunteers are always needed.Stocking starts next week in our area. To check the schedule, go to

www.fish.state.pa.us and click on "fish stocking schedule." From there you can search by county and date. Always check again closer to the date; sometimes stockings are postponed due to weather conditions.Each stocking truck has seven tank compartments, and each compartment can hold 130 gallons of water and 500 trout. The compartments are aerated. Fish are caught and loaded in the morning and have often traveled at least two hours before they are stocked.Our area trout come from the Benner Spring Hatchery, constructed in 1952 on 49 acres near State College. At the hatchery, there's a main building and numerous exterior concrete raceways, which are channeled with a flow-through system to keep the water oxygenated.The Benner Spring Hatchery has 11 full-time employees who raise 336,366 fish, which include brook, brown and rainbow trout, purebred and tiger muskellunge and walleye. If you're ever out that way, visitors are welcome year-round from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; the hatchery receives about 2,000 visitors annually. The cost per pound to raise a trout is $2.45.From the moment the stocking truck leaves the hatchery, the clock is ticking. Since the trucks are commercial vehicles, the driver is limited in hours on duty. Also, warmer temperatures are not good for the trout; the goal is to get them out of the truck and carried to streams as quickly as possible.That's where volunteers are needed. The fish are loaded into five-gallon buckets, along with water, and people are needed to carry them from the truck to the water. There are few better cures for the winter blues than slinging shiny trout in area waters.After all, opening day is just three weeks away in our area; it's April 4 in 18 of Pennsylvania's southeastern counties, and April 18 statewide.If You GoBe ready for a fast pace. Pack a lunch, snacks and drinks.Knee-high, waterproof rubber boots are recommended.You may get wet bring a change of socks and gloves.Ready to Wet a Line?You'll be hard-pressed to find a cheaper form of family entertainment. For residents ages 16-64, the annual license is $21.70 and for seniors it's $10.70 (both have been reduced by $1 this year). You'll also need a trout/salmon permit which costs $9.70. The youth license is $2.70 and no trout/salmon permit is needed for youth. You can get a license on-line, from your country treasurer or from license issuing agents (a list is on the website).Special MentoredYouth DayIn our area, a special mentored youth fishing day will be held on March 28; the statewide mentored youth trout day is April 11. Youth under the age of 16 can join a mentor (adult) angler who has a current fishing license and trout permit to fish on March 28 on approved trout waters within the 18 southeastern regional counties for regional trout season and to fish approved trout waters in the other counties on April 11.