| Allegheny National Fish Hatchery | |
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.jpg) TOP: The Allegheny National Fish Hatchery's entrance sign on a winter day.ABOVE: A downstream view from theKinzua Dam of the Allegheny River (left) and the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery (center). | |
  Location of Allegheny National Fish Hatchery. Show map of Pennsylvania Allegheny National Fish Hatchery (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Warren,Pennsylvania,United States |
| Coordinates | 41°50′30″N79°00′22″W / 41.8417°N 079.0061°W /41.8417; -079.0061 |
| Area | 45 acres (18 ha) |
| Established | 1975 (1975) |
| Governing body | United States Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | www |
TheAllegheny National Fish Hatchery is afish hatchery administered by theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service on the north bank of theAllegheny River. It lies on 45acres (18hectares) of land inWarren County,Pennsylvania, about 200 feet (61 m) downriver from theKinzua Dam and is a component of theNational Fish Hatchery System. Like other components of the National Fish Hatchery System, the hatchery's mission is to conserve, protect, and enhance fish,wildlife, plants, and theirhabitats, as well to cooperate with like-minded partners to further these goals. Specifically, the hatchery produceslake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and bloaters (Coregonus hoyi) for the restoration of populations of thosespecies inLake Erie andLake Ontario.[1][2][3]
TheUnited States Congress authorized the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in 1959. Between 1960 and 1965, theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers built theKinzua Dam on theAllegheny River to control flooding. In 1966, theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) entered into a 50-year use agreement for a site for the hatchery on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-owned land just below the dam. Construction of the hatchery finally began in 1973. After the completion of the first phase of its construction, the hatchery began to produce fish in 1975. It reached its full production capacity upon completion of the second phase of construction in 1978.[2][4]
Initially, the hatchery produced brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis),brown trout (Salmo trutta),rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and landlockedAtlantic salmon (Salmo salar) for the stocking of Lake Erie,Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, and waterways inPennsylvania andNew York.[2] It produced as many as 1.3 million fish annually until 2005, when lake trout and brook trout at the hatchery tested positive forinfectious pancreatic necrosis, a highly contagious disease capable of killing up to 90 percent of young fish it infects. To prevent the disease from spreading, all fish at the hatchery were destroyed. During a thorough decontamination of the facility that followed, the staff discovered serious infrastructure problems that prevented the hatchery from resuming its operations.[5]
In 2009, funding for repairs became available through theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and in March 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service let a contract for repairs that included a new degasification system and a new oxygen generation system — necessary because the water supplied by the hatchery's four wells is supersaturated withnitrogen and must go through anaeration anddegassing process to make it non-toxic for fish, then be injected withoxygen to enhance water quality. The repairs also included the installation of a new well-water treatment system and the construction of a new structure to house equipment associated with the new systems.[5]
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With the repairs complete, the hatchery finally resumed fish production in November 2011, when 2,200 juvenile lake trout from theBerkshire National Fish Hatchery in westernMassachusetts were released into the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery'sraceways to serve as its new broodstock.[6] In December 2011, the hatchery received a total of one million lake trout eggs from theState of Vermont's Salisbury Fish Hatchery, theSullivan Creek National Fish Hatchery inMichigan, and theIron River National Fish Hatchery inWisconsin. The hatchery's focus became the production of lake trout to support the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and as of 2012 it was the only hatchery dedicated to restoring lake trout to the lakes.[7] The first fish the hatchery produced after it resumed operations were stocked into the lakes in May 2013.[5] In 2016 the USFWS renewed its land-use agreement for the hatchery with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for another 50 years.[2]
The USFWS manages and operates the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery.[1]
As of 2025, the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery focuses on the production oflake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and bloaters (Coregonus hoyi) for the restoration of populations of lake trout inLake Erie andLake Ontario and of bloaters in Lake Ontario. Its work supports the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a partnership of 16United States Government,U.S. state, andCanadian provincial agencies working together to address the most significant environmental problems in the Great Lakes.[1][5][8]
Fish hatched at the hatchery spend about 18 months there before they are released into the wild. Fish production takes place on a cycle that sees the hatchery staff take eggs from gravid female fish and spawn them in October and November. The eggs hatch and the young fry begin to grow between December and March. In August and September, the hatchery uses automated machinery to tag and fin-clip the fish for lake survival and growth studies. By the following April and May the fish have become "yearlings" — about 18 months old and 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) long — and the staff loads them into trucks which transport them to the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in Pennsylvania, New York, andOhio, where they are released into the lakes.[4][5]
The hatchery works with local partners to stage outreach events that educate the public about hatchery operations,fisheries science, andconservation.[9]
The Allegheny National Fish Hatchery offers tours in which visitors can observe and learn about its operations. Throughout the year, the public can see the hatchery staff feed young fish and carry out other tasks related to raising them. On various days during April and May visitors can see the hatchery staff loading trucks with yearling fish for transport to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. In August and September, the public can observe the hatchery's use of automated machinery to tag and clip the fins of fish. During October and November, visitors can look on as the staff takes eggs, normally on Tuesdays, and spawns them. From December through March, the public can visit as the hatchery incubates eggs and begins to raise young fry.[4][5]
The waters of the Allegheny River below the Kinzua Dam in the vicinity of the hatchery provide goodrecreational fishing opportunities fortrout,walleye (Sander vitreus),bass (Percomorpha), andmuskellunge (Esox masquinongy). Fishing is not permitted at the hatchery itself, but upon request the hatchery will provide shore access to anglers. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed and maintains a fishing platform and public toilet facilities adjacent to[4] and just upstream from the hatchery. Located onPennsylvania Route 59, the platform is open 24 hours a day except when the Allegheny River's flow rate exceeds 6,000 cu ft/s (170 m3/s) or when winter weather conditions prompt road closures.
The hatchery's environs also offer opportunities forbirdwatching.Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus),killdeer (Charadrius vociferus),osprey (Pandion haliaetus),mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), andswallows are common in the area.[4]
