About Us
The Northeast Fishery Center is part of the National Fish Hatchery System - a network of fish hatcheries, fish health centers, technology centers, and the Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership program whose mission is to protect and restore recreational and commercial fisheries, protect the health of wild and hatchery-raised fish, and recover endangered species for the American public.
At the Northeast Fishery Center, we offer expertise in population genetics, genomics, and eDNA technology, fish ecology and population dynamics, fish culture technology, fish health, and experimental design and statistical analyses.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help tribal, federal, and state agencies, as well as the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission make scientifically-based decisions to manage, build, and sustain populations of fish, restore recreationally valuable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species , and maintain the health of wild and hatchery fish.
Our History
Since 1871, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been applying science-based approaches to restore and enhance fish and other aquatic resources for the continuing benefit of the American people.
The U.S. Congress authorized the Lamar Fish Culture Station in 1930. The station operated as a production hatchery raising largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, walleye, muskellunge, rainbow trout, brook trout, and striped bass for recreational fish stocking programs. The station later added developing and improving fish culture methods to its mission in 1966, and providing guidance to national fish hatcheries, state and tribal hatcheries, and the aquaculture industry. The station was instrumental in developing culture methods for American shad and for Atlantic sturgeon. In 1984, the facility was renamed the Northeast Fishery Center (Center), adding fish health expertise to the mission with the newly established Lamar Fish Health Center. The Center added expertise in population dynamics and assisting with fish stock assessments to its mission in 1998, followed by expertise in conservation genetics in 2003, creating the Lamar Fish Technology Center within the Northeast Fishery Center complex. The Center continues to address culture-related issues pertinent to recovery of threatened and endangered or otherwise imperiled aquatic species. Lamar Fish Health experts are also addressing disease and health issues for freshwater mussels.
Other Facilities in this Complex
The Lamar Fish Health Center and the Lamar National Fish Hatchery and Fish Technology Center together form the Service’s Northeast Fishery Center in Lamar, PA.
