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The National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) was established by the U.S. Congress in 1871 through the creation of a U.S. Commissioner for Fish and Fisheries. This system of fish hatcheries is now administered by the Fisheries Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior.
When early pioneers began migrating to the western United States, there were no catch limits on fish and no laws preventing people from modifying fish habitats to meet human needs for water, food, and safety. As settlement progressed, abundant fish populations began to decline. By 1870, growing concern for such declines prompted fishery studies, which spurred the establishment of fish spawning stations for collecting and hatching fish eggs and stocking small fish back into waters with declining fisheries. Many of these early spawning stations later became fish hatcheries, marking the beginning of the Fisheries Program and the NFHS.
President Ulysses S. Grant was chiefly responsible for the first official government action to conserve U.S. fishery resources for future generations. President Grant established the U.S. Fish Commission in 1871. The Commission was the forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Fisheries Program.
In 1872, the first federal fish hatchery, known as the Baird Hatchery, was established on the McCloud River in California. The NFHS has since grown into a large complex system devoted to conserving U.S. fishery resources.
Originally Spencer Fullerton Baird was chosen by President Ulysses S. Grant to manage the fisheries in the country. He was named "Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries". In 1871 Baird took office but his work was still in effect. The people were now understanding the importance of the fisheries, for sport and food. With much pressure from such organizations as the American Fish Cultural Association and the American Fisheries Society, Congress reserved $15,000 for the fisheries.
The man that was chosen to essentially take Baird's position was Livingston Stone. With a group of scientists, his job was to find salmon spawning areas and develop a salmon hatchery so that the eggs could be managed and shipped around the country to make the salmon available for all. Stone and his team located this area and started shipping eggs as soon as possible. A few miles from where they had originally found the salmon eggs, rainbow trout eggs were also found. Now rainbow trout eggs and salmon eggs were being shipped across the world. Essentially every rainbow trout's native water is northern California. The Baird Hatchery was formed from Stone and today the hatchery still manages fish as they did back in the 1800s. [1]
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The Service's Fisheries Program and its fish hatchery system have played a vital role in conserving America's fishery resources for over 130 years. The program was established mainly to address the following:
The Fisheries Program has worked with valued partners including States, Native American tribes, Federal Agencies, other Service programs, and private interests in a larger effort to conserve fish and other aquatic resources.
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The original purpose of the NFHS was to supplement declining native stocks of coastal and lake food fish through fish propagation. The NFHS has extensive experience culturing over 100 different aquatic species, and now propagates fish for reasons beyond supplementing declining food species. Hatchery-reared fish are now used to replace fish that were lost from natural events including drought, flood, habitat destruction, or human influences such as over-harvest, pollution, habitat loss due to development and dam construction. This is necessary in order to establish fish populations that meet specific management needs, and to provide for the creation of new and expanded recreational fisheries opportunities.
The role of the NFHS has changed significantly over the past 30 years as a result of the increasing demands recently placed upon various aquatic systems. Major responsibilities of the NFHS, besides mentioned fish propagation, now include 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 Indian tribes and National Wildlife Refuges. NFHS concentrates its efforts on several fish species including lake trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, paddlefish, and sturgeon. Other interesting species that the NFHS helps to restore include freshwater mussels and amphibians.
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The NFHS is able to conserve U.S. fishery resources by:
Recently,[ when? ] the Service has maximized the output of its work force by integrating the work of fish hatcheries and fisheries management. This integrated effort has been successful, and 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 Fisheries Program continues to work with its stakeholders — Federal agencies, state resource agencies, tribal governments, and private organizations — to complement habitat restoration and other resource management strategies for maintaining healthy ecosystems that support healthy fisheries.
Currently,[ when? ] the system comprises 70 national fish hatcheries, nine fish health centers, seven fish technology centers, and a historic national fish hatchery. [2] [3] National fish hatcheries are located in 35 states and produce more than 60 different species of fish.
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word trout is also used as part of the name of some non-salmonid fish such as Cynoscion nebulosus, the spotted seatrout or speckled trout.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."
The rainbow trout is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus m. irideus) or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and North America. Like other sea-run trout and salmon, steelhead spawn in freshwater, smolts migrate to the ocean to forage for several years and adults return to their natal streams to spawn. Steelhead are iteroparous, although survival is approximately 10–20%.
The Chinook salmon is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus Oncorhynchus. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, Quinnat salmon, Tsumen, spring salmon, chrome hog, Blackmouth, and Tyee salmon. The scientific species name is based on the Russian common name chavycha (чавыча).
The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Oncorhynchus is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος + ῥύγχος, in reference to the hooked snout that the males develop during mating season.
Puget Sound salmon recovery is a collective effort of federal, state and local authorities and non-profit coalitions of universities, scientists, business and industry aimed at restoring Pacific salmon and anadromous forms of Pacific trout (Oncorhynchus) within the Puget Sound region. The Puget Sound lies within the native range of the Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus) and two sea-run forms of Pacific trout, the coastal rainbow trout or steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout. Populations of Oncorhynchus have seen significant declines since the middle of the 19th century due to over fishing, habitat loss, pollution and disease. Salmon species residing in or migrating through the Puget Sound to spawning streams include Chum, Coho, Chinook, Sockeye, and Pink salmon. Pacific salmon require freshwater rivers for spawning and most major tributaries of the Puget Sound have salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout spawning runs.
Lahontan cutthroat trout is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout, and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened.
The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.
The coastal cutthroat trout, also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroat trout occurs in four distinct forms. A semi-anadromous or sea-run form is the most well known. Freshwater forms occur in both large and small rivers and streams and lake environments. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California. Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than 100 miles (160 km) from the ocean.
The Alaska salmon fishery is a managed fishery that supports the annual harvest of five species of wild Pacific Salmon for commercial fishing, sport fishing, subsistence by Alaska Native communities, and personal use by local residents. The salmon harvest in Alaska is the largest in North America and represents about 80% of the total wild-caught catch, with harvests from Canada and the Pacific Northwest representing the remainder In 2017 over 200 million salmon were caught in Alaskan waters by commercial fishers, representing $750 million in exvessel value. Salmon fishing is a nearly ubiquitous activity across Alaska, however the most valuable salmon fisheries are in the Bristol Bay, Prince William Sound and Southeast regions.
The Mexican golden trout is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae. The species is endemic to high-elevation headwaters of the Fuerte River, Sinaloa River, and Culiacán River drainages in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.
Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake or ocean to supplement existing populations or to create a population where previously none exists. Stocking may be done for the benefit of commercial, recreational or tribal heritage fishing, but may also be done to restore or increase the population of threatened or endangered fish in a body of water closed to fishing.
The Neosho National Fish Hatchery is the oldest federal fish hatchery in operation today. It is one of 69 fish hatcheries operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It was established in 1888.
The aquaculture of salmonids is the farming and harvesting of salmonids under controlled conditions for both commercial and recreational purposes. Salmonids, along with carp, and tilapia are the three most important fish species in aquaculture. The most commonly commercially farmed salmonid is the Atlantic salmon. In the U.S. Chinook salmon and rainbow trout are the most commonly farmed salmonids for recreational and subsistence fishing through the National Fish Hatchery System. In Europe, brown trout are the most commonly reared fish for recreational restocking. Commonly farmed nonsalmonid fish groups include tilapia, catfish, sea bass, and bream.
The McCloud River redband trout is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the family Salmonidae. The trout is native in small tributaries of the McCloud River and Pit River which are tributaries of California's Sacramento River. Its historic range has declined significantly since it was first described in 1894. Remaining populations of genetically pure McCloud River redband trout are threatened by predation, habitat loss, competition with introduced trout species and by hybridization with hatchery rainbow trout introduced to support sport fishing.
The Montana Arctic grayling is a North American freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. The Montana Arctic grayling, native to the upper Missouri River basin in Montana and Wyoming, is a disjunct population or subspecies of the more widespread Arctic grayling. It occurs in fluvial and adfluvial, lacustrine forms. The Montana grayling is a species of special concern in Montana and had candidate status for listing under the national Endangered Species Act. It underwent a comprehensive status review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which in 2014 decided not to list it as threatened or endangered. Current surviving native populations in the Big Hole River and Red Rock River drainages represent approximately four percent of the subspecies' historical range.
The Nimbus Fish Hatchery is located in eastern Sacramento County, built on the downstream side of the Nimbus Dam. It is one of the 21 fish hatcheries the California Department of Fish and Wildlife oversees. Chinook salmon and steelhead are raised, and about 4 million Chinook salmon and 430,000 steelhead released each year.
Saratoga National Fish Hatchery is part of the National Fish Hatchery System operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It is located northeast of Saratoga, Wyoming and, along with the Jackson National Fish Hatchery, is one of two National fish hatcheries operating in Wyoming. Saratoga NHF is primarily a broodstock hatchery; it maintains several healthy adults to produce sperm and eggs and distributes fertilized eggs to production hatcheries throughout the country to be hatched and grown to stockable sizes. It is also one of several organizations to establish a program for breeding Wyoming toads.
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