Eyed Coaster Brook Trout eggs in a strainer. Photo: USFWS.

The newest additions to Genoa National Fish Hatchery arrived on station on January 17th. About 70,000 fertilized Coaster Brook Trout eggs were sent from our sister hatchery at Iron River National Fish Hatchery from captive broodstock that were started in our quarantine building at Genoa in 2017 and 2018. After a quick disinfection bath, the eggs were placed in hatching jars to continue their development. We expect that hatching will begin within the next couple of weeks. From there, we will raise these fish until spring of 2024, hopefully in excess of 10 inches by that time. Most of these fish will be stocked for the Coaster Brook Trout restoration program in Grand Portage Band of Chippewa waters of Lake Superior and its nearby tributaries. Hopefully these fish will be part of the resurgence of this once plentiful, unique strain of Brook Trout in Lake Superior waters. The remainder will go to interior lakes on Red Lake Nation lands to become part of a tremendous recreational trout fishery. By: Nick Bloomfield

transferring eggs into an incubation jar. Photo: USFWS.