Allegheny National Fish Hatchery
Encyclopedia
The Allegheny National Fish Hatchery was established by Congress in 1959 to produce rainbow, brook, and brown trout for northwestern Pennsylvania streams. Construction began in the late 1960s. Fish production began on site in 1974.
for restoration in Lake Erie
and Lake Ontario
. Allegheny National Fish Hatchery is the only U.S. hatchery tasked with producing fish for the bi-national effort.
The lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, is a cold water fish of the charr family. The largest of the trout species, it is a deepwater fish which is a cousin to the familiar and popular brook trout
(Salvelinus fontinalis). The lake trout is native to the northeast United States and Canada, and it was once a top predator fish in the Great Lakes. Its numbers have dropped due to the introduction of exotic, non-native species such as the sea lamprey, loss of habitat and historic overharvest.
Annually producing as many as 1.3 million fish in the early 1990s, the hatchery now produces an estimated 660,000 fish for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It maintains a broodstock population of approximately 2000 fish. Broodstock are used to produce eggs for Lake Michigan as well as for the Erie and Ontario programs.
tailwater fishing pier, immediately upstream of the hatchery on PA Route 59, is open 24 hours per day at flows of 6000 cuft/s or less. Access to the fishing pier is closed during winter road conditions.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lake trout production
The current goal of the facility is to produce lake troutLake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
for restoration in Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
and Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. Allegheny National Fish Hatchery is the only U.S. hatchery tasked with producing fish for the bi-national effort.
The lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, is a cold water fish of the charr family. The largest of the trout species, it is a deepwater fish which is a cousin to the familiar and popular brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
(Salvelinus fontinalis). The lake trout is native to the northeast United States and Canada, and it was once a top predator fish in the Great Lakes. Its numbers have dropped due to the introduction of exotic, non-native species such as the sea lamprey, loss of habitat and historic overharvest.
Annually producing as many as 1.3 million fish in the early 1990s, the hatchery now produces an estimated 660,000 fish for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It maintains a broodstock population of approximately 2000 fish. Broodstock are used to produce eggs for Lake Michigan as well as for the Erie and Ontario programs.
Nearby fishing pier at Kinzua Dam
Access to the Kinzua DamKinzua Dam
The Kinzua Dam, in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River....
tailwater fishing pier, immediately upstream of the hatchery on PA Route 59, is open 24 hours per day at flows of 6000 cuft/s or less. Access to the fishing pier is closed during winter road conditions.
External links
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.