A Career in the National Fish Hatchery System

The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) is comprised of a network of 70 production facilities, 16 Fish Technology and Fish Health Centers, and the National Fish Hatchery Archives. Since the inception of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1871, the National Fish Hatchery System has positioned itself as a innovator in fish husbandry, fish health diagnostics, and emerging technologies aimed at the restoration and recovery of imperiled, threatened, and candidate species.  Furthermore, the NFHS works with our State, Tribal, and Federal partners to produce fish to enhance recreational angling opportunities. Plants, salamanders, insects, and freshwater mussels are also beneficiaries to the work conducted by scientists in the NFHS.

As a result of this wide range of responsibilities and the diverse fisheries challenges across the country, the NFHS currently supports 290 active propagation programs representing approximately 70 different species.  A program of this magnitude provides opportunities for biologists and scientists that have diverse specialties in ecology, statistics, botany, physiology, fish culture, microbiology, and veterinary medicine to conserve America’s fisheries.