Questions & Answers
Frequently Asked Questions at Norfork National Fish Hatchery
How many fish do we have on station?
While this is always changing, we typically hold between 3 and 4 million trout on station.
What Kind of fish do we raise?
Here at the Norfork National Fish hatchery, we raise three different species of trout. These include the rainbow trout, brown trout, and cutthroat trout.
At what size do we release our trout?
Rainbow trout are stocked at an 11" inch average, while browns and cutthroats are stocked at a 9" average.
How long from hatch to stocking?
A general rule of thumb for us is about 1/2 inch of growth per month, so an 11" fish would be around 22 months old. This can vary depending on where their stocking date is anticipated to fall. We can speed growth up or slow it down a bit. However, the 1/2 inch per month rule is a good general answer.
Do we spawn fish here at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery?
Surprising to many of our visitors, we do not spawn trout here on station. We actually receive eggs from brood hatcheries that hold large numbers of brood stock. Spawning takes place at those hatcheries. Brood hatcheries send eggs to production hatcheries like the Norfork National Fish Hatchery.
Where does our water supply come from?
Our water supply comes from Norfork Lake. The hatchery actually has 2 intake systems. One is a single intake at a specified depth in the lake. The other is a multi-level intake. It consist of three intakes at different depths in the water column. We can adjust the proportion of water we receive from each one of those intakes. This allows us to have some control over the water temperature. The water is gravity fed and travels under the riverbed, under the highway, and then enters the hatcheries aerator buildings. From there, it goes through the raceways and eventually, back into the North Fork River via dry run creek.
Why do we have one raceway of big trout?
A lot of our visitors believe our raceway of large trout is brood stock. That's a logical guess, but they are actually just for display. They are simply there for our visitor's enjoyment. Truth be told, we really enjoy them too!
What do you feed the fish?
This is really a tough question for us to answer off the top of our heads and the list of ingredients is rather long. However, it does contain some basic things like fish meal, poultry meal, wheat flour, and fish oil. It all has to meet certain requirements to be accepted. For example, some of our feed is guaranteed to have 50% protein and 20% crude fat.