Stocking and Hatcheries

Chinook: Adult Chinook salmon from Ship Creek are captured, held in the hatchery, then spawned each July. Other Chinook salmon eggs are brought from Crooked Creek, Ninilchik River and Deception Creek. The eggs are held in incubators from July through October, then fry are transferred to raceways and reared until the smolt stage. Smolt are fish that are ready for ocean migration. In May and June, the smolt are released at selected stocking locations. The smolt imprint (remember the smell of the waters) on their way to the ocean. They spend two to five years in the ocean before returning to those sites as adult salmon.

Rainbow trout: Rainbow trout of Swanson River origin are used for lake stocking programs. Fort Richardson Hatchery maintains a captive broodstock that is spawned each spring. In the fall, some of the rainbow trout fingerlings are transferred from Fort Richardson Hatchery to Elmendorf Hatchery for rearing. They are stocked in southcentral and interior Alaskan lakes in the spring when trout are eight to ten inches long (1/4 to 1/3 pound).

Funding: This hatchery is 100% funded through user fees: 75% comes from the Federal Aid to Sport Fish Restoration, Dingell-Johnson / Wallop-Breaux program. This program provides funds from federal excise taxes collected on sport fishing tackle, recreational boats and gasoline used in recreational boats. The other 25% is from state sport fishing license sales.

Salmon Viewing Area Hours Late May through September, 8:00 a.m. till 10:00 p.m.

The salmon viewing area is adjacent to the hatchery and provides opportunities to see Chinook salmon from late May through July, and coho salmon August through mid-September. This viewing area can be accessed from Post Road during salmon viewing hours.