National Fish Hatchery System: By The Numbers (2021)

The National Fish Hatchery System plays an important role in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s mission to conserve, protect, and enhance, fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. National fish hatcheries use aquaculture to raise threatened, endangered, or at-risk species in a safe captive environment for eventual release into a natural setting, or to protect their genetics. This work, along with habitat restoration, and other federal protections, can help boost and support wild populations.

National Fish Hatchery System Facilities

In additional to a network of hatcheries, the National Fish Hatchery System operates 13 applied science facilities that assist fish production programs by advancing the fields of genetics, physiology, pathology, and nutrition.

A small brown fish with a pink strip and dark spots is photographed against a white background.

Image Details

The National Fish Hatchery System by the numbers (2021).

Hatcheries can be a unique and powerful tool for wildlife conservation when they are used to recover wild populations and support sustainable recreational fisheries.

110 million – Fish released by national fish hatcheries.
81 million – Eggs transferred through the National Broodstock Program.
16.6 million – Threatened or endangered wildlife released to support recovery programs.

Where do National Fish Hatchery System fish go?

Many states rely on aquaculture to stock lakes and rivers with fish populations for sustainable recreational fishing. The National Fish Hatchery System works closely with our state and Tribal partners to produce and stock fish using advanced genetic tools and techniques to maximize performance and to minimize negative impact on wild fish.

106 million – Sport fish stocked to support recreational fisheries.
8.6 million – Fish stocked on Tribal lands or with Tribal impacts.
373,000 – Fish stocked on military Lands.
63 – Tribes stocked with fish for recreational and subsistence fisheries.
45 – States stocked with fish for recreational and subsistence fisheries.

What does the National Fish Hatchery System raise?

National fish hatcheries support conservation by raising aquatic wildlife to recover federally listed threatened or endangered species, improve sustainable recreational fishing, support fisheries that have been impacted by a federal dam project, and prevent at-risk species from becoming endangered.

129 – Total number of species raised on national fish hatcheries for release or transfer.