National Fish Hatchery System

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has a responsibility to conserve, restore, enhance, and manage the Nation's fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems for the benefit of future generations. Federal stewardship of the Nation's fishery resources has been a core responsibility of the Service for over 120 years. The National Fish Hatchery System was established in 1871 by Congress through the creation of a U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. The original purpose of National Fish Hatchery System was to provide additional domestic food fish to replace declining native fish populations. Cultured fish were use to replace fish that were lost from natural (drought, flood, habitat destruction) or human (over-harvest, pollution, habitat loss due to development and dam construction) influences, to establish fish populations to meet specific management needs, and to provide for the creation of new and expanded recreational fisheries opportunities.

The NFHS has a unique responsibility in helping to recover species listed under the Endangered Species Act, restoring native aquatic populations, mitigating for fisheries lost as a result of federal water projects, and providing fish to benefit Tribes and National Wildlife Refuges. The NFHS works closely with other Service biologists and with the States, Tribes, and the private sector to complement habitat restoration and other resource management strategies for maintaining healthy ecosystems that support healthy fisheries.

The role of the National Fish Hatchery System has changed and diversified greatly over the past 30 years as increasing demands are placed upon aquatic systems. In recent years, the Service has maximized the output of its work force by integrating the work of fish hatcheries and fisheries management. This integrated effort has resulted in cohesive, more efficient national restoration programs, such as those for Great Lakes lake trout, Atlantic Coast striped bass, Atlantic salmon, and Pacific salmon. The Service continues to work with its stakeholders -- Federal agencies, State resource agencies, Tribal governments, and private organizations-- to improve fishery conservation efforts.

The National Fish Hatchery System is comprised of 70 Fish Hatcheries, 7 Fish Technology Centers, and  9 Fish Health Centers. Access a list of facilities (names, addresses, phone numbers) within the National Fish Hatchery System here: NFH, FTC, & FHC

Programs

In the last three decades, human influences have pushed the Nation's natural resources beyond the ability of many fish and aquatic resources to sustain themselves. The National Fish Hatchery System has responded to the many challenges facing the Nation's fisheries by focusing its resources on:

• Restoring and maintaining native fish populations in interjurisdictional waters where stocks are threatened;
• Complying with legal responsibilities to mitigate for the effect of Federal water development projects on fishery resources;
• Recovery efforts for threatened and endangered fish species;
• Providing leadership in developing new fish culture technologies and fish health strategies;
• Maintaining the National Broodstock Program, which ensures that disease-free eggs and larvae are available for restoration, enhancement, mitigation, and other programs.
• Developing and encouraging partnerships between governments and the private sector to provide greater opportunities for conserving and enhancing aquatic ecosystems and for advancing their stewardship.
• Evaluation of hatchery stocking programs.
• Conducting public outreach on fishery resource issues and what the National Fish Hatchery System is doing to address those issues.
• As the number of imperiled fish species has increased, so has the demand for innovative partnerships and programs to reverse these disturbing trends. Captive propagation is perhaps most familiar through the reintroductions of such species as the whooping crane, red wolf, and California condor. This same tool has great utility in aquatic resource conservation and is increasingly being prescribed as part of the recovery strategy for listed species, and to provide recreational fishing opportunities in healthy aquatic ecosystems.
•  The success of captive propagation for recovery depends upon a number of things, including careful genetics planning and management, concurrent habitat restoration, thorough evaluation studies--and funding. Propagation of imperiled fish species is often more than twice as costly as rearing non-native game fish due to genetic analyses, special diet requirements, and rearing conditions that enhance survival in the wild, along with rigorous monitoring and evaluation studies.
• Despite the challenges, success stories are growing and showcase the NFHS’s dedication to good science and management.

Photos by USFWS