Plan Your Visit
Open to the public, Mora National Fish Hatchery welcomes visitors to the hatchery for a close up view of the fish production process. With hundreds of visitors annually, the friendly dedicated staff will regularly be available to answer any questions while you explore the Visitor Center and take a short tour of the fish culture spaces.
Get Involved
Whether you want to further conservation, learn more about nature or share your love of the outdoors, you’ve come to the right place. National fish hatcheries provide many opportunities for you to help your community and fish and wildlife by doing what you love.
National fish hatcheries partner with volunteers, youth groups, landowners, neighbors and residents of both urban and rural communities to make a lasting difference. There are opportunities for everyone to get involved!
Volunteers: Gain new experiences and meet new people while helping to advance fish and aquatic conservation.
Friends: Join neighbors in helping hatcheries work effectively in our communities.
Local Groups: Find out how communities can work with hatcheries to conserve our shared natural resources.
Youth: Explore paid and unpaid opportunities to learn and develop leadership skills.
Services
Mora National Fish Hatchery has been breeding and raising Gila trout since 1999. The hatchery is the only facility that now raises this rare fish. Current populations in active culture are lineages from the Main Diamond and South Diamond watersheds. Beginning in 2012, the hatchery began the process of developing breeding populations of the Whiskey and Spruce Creek lineages. These surviving populations can be severely impacted by natural events such as fire, flood, and drought, and the Mora National Fish Hatchery has the capability to provide refuge when necessary.
Each year the hatchery improves the spawning techniques for the Gila trout creating higher hatch rates. Constant changes to breeding practices lead to increased egg production and corresponding fry hatch rates, which in turn lead to more fish available for recovery and recreational stocking.
About
Mora National Fish Hatchery is dedicated to the restoration and recovery of the threatened Gila trout in New Mexico and Arizona. Established in 1994, it uses innovative water re-use and re-circulation technologies to reduce water usage by 95 percent in the arid southwest. The hatchery currently maintains five surviving genetic lineages to provide refuge and protect the species from natural disasters like fire and drought.
