In 1969, fish disease, water quality, and technical problems were encountered in the production of salmon reared at the hatchery. The emphasis then turned to more trout production (more than one million fish) for the Colville Tribes and state planting programs. This continued well into the mid-1970’s when the national fish hatchery objectives and priorities changed and the focus went back to restore and rehabilitate Chinook salmon runs in the upper Columbia basin.S |
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Construction of the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery occurred between 1940 and 1942. Fish cultural operations were initiated at Winthrop in 1942. Adult sockeye, spring Chinook, and steelhead trout were identified as the primary mitigation species. The initial operating plan for the hatchery called for adult spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead to be trapped at Rock Island Dam and transported to the Leavenworth hatchery for spawning. The gametes were then transported to the Entiat and Winthrop hatcheries. By 1951 the hatchery reared not only the salmon, but also rainbow and brook trout used to stock state waters for fishing.
