The National Broodstock Program was established in 1970 to support healthy sustainable fisheries in waterways across the country. Every year the National Broodstock Program provides about 60 million fish eggs that are hatched and raised by our partners to meet their conservation and management goals.
The eggs and resulting fish are used to support recreational fishing, produce fish to mitigate habitat loss due to dam construction, support Tribal fisheries, provide a disease-free source of eggs to make forage fish for endangered species recovery programs and support fisheries research. Our specialized broodstock broodstock
The reproductively mature adults in a population that breed (or spawn) and produce more individuals (offspring or progeny).
Learn more about broodstock hatcheries maintain gene pools of distinct species and strains, many of which are no longer available in the wild.
In addition to inland salmonid strains supporting recreational fishing around the country, several National Broodstock Program hatcheries maintain stocks of imperiled inland salmonid species. These stocks are utilized to recover declining populations and, in some cases, save species from extinction! These include Apache Trout, Gila Trout, landlocked Atlantic Salmon, Greenback Cutthroat, Lahontan Cutthroat, Snake River Cutthroat, and some strains of Lake Trout.
The national broodstock program’s egg distribution service provides:
- Certified disease-free fertilized eggs of a variety of inland salmonids for recovery, restoration, and recreational fishing.
- Technical expertise based on 150 years of fisheries and aquaculture experience.
- Economic & social values to states, communities, and Tribes.
Who is Eligible?
We provide eggs to public facilities such as federal, state, and local hatcheries, Tribal fisheries programs, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. We do not provide egg to for-profit or private aquaculture facilities.
Request Timeline
Due to the natural spawning cycles of the fish we raise, requests should be made by March 30th, three to five years in advance. The spawning year takes place from June 1st through May 31st. Requests are not guaranteed and are prioritized based on environmental conditions, national conservation objectives and tribal requirements.
Common inland salmonid strains available for request:
| Species | Strain |
|---|---|
| Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) | Lake Superior - Tobin Harbor Wild |
| Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) | Sandwich |
| Brown trout (Salmo trutta) | Plymouth |
| Brown trout (Salmo trutta) | Crawford |
| Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) | Lake Champlain Domestic |
| Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) | Lake Superior - Klondike Reef Wild |
| Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) | Lewis Lake Wild |
| Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) | Perry Sound Wild |
| Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) | Seneca Lake Wild |
| Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | Erwin x Arlee Domestic |
| Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | Arlee Domestic |
| Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | Eagle Lake Domestic |
| Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | Fish Lake Domestic |
| Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | Shasta Domestic |
| Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | McConaughy Domestic |
Get Started
Contact the regional broodstock coordinator for your state.
| Regional coordinator | Area of coverage |
|---|---|
| Aaron Frater | Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas |
| Tyler Hern | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Mark Olson | Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin |
| Craig Bockholt | Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia |
| Ron Hopper | Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming |
| Javier Linares | California and Nevada |