Our Services
Native warm water species began to decline after the installation of the Hoover Dam in 1936 and the introduction of multiple sportfish species. Two examples of these native warm water species are the endangered razorback sucker and bonytail chub. To combat fisheries predation of our stocked fish, each year our staff raises as many of these fish as possible to a minimum total length of 305 millimeters. They are tagged for future population monitoring and stocked utilizing our 42-foot transportation barge at predetermined sites along the Lower Colorado River. The Bureau of Reclamation and Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery have an agreement through the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program to stock up to 660,000 razorback suckers and 620,000 bonytail chubs in the Lower Colorado River through 2044.
The hatchery also serves our tribal partners and the public by annually raising a minimum of 100,000 rainbow trout for stocking the Lower Colorado River system on Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort Yuma, and Fort Mohave tribal lands as well as below the Hoover and Davis Dams. We receive monthly shipments of sterile rainbow trout eggs from Ennis National Fish Hatchery from September through April. Biologists stagger the growth of these rainbow trout throughout the year in order to annually produce catchable sized 10-12 inch fish for weekly stockings at Willow Beach. We also provide weekly rainbow trout stockings seasonally from October through April below Davis Dam for recreational purposes. All these rainbow trout are sterile, to prevent the species from overwhelming the native fish populations.
