How WDFW hatcheries make good use of surplus fish
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) owns and/or operates more than 80 hatcheries around the state producing more than 160 million juvenile salmon and steelhead annually.
WDFW manages hatchery production with two core responsibilities in mind, meeting harvest objectives for treaty and non-treaty anglers, and ensuring the long-term conservation of fish populations. A key part of this work is maintaining adequate broodstock so that hatcheries can reliably produce the next generation of fish.
In an ideal scenario, hatchery returns would match production needs exactly, with no surplus. However, fish returns can vary from year-to-year. To ensure that enough eggs are available to meet production goals, even in years with fewer than expected returns, hatcheries plan for a buffer. This can result in varying levels of surplus adult fish returning to hatchery facilities.
What are surplus hatchery fish
Surplus hatchery fish are adult or jack hatchery-origin fish that return to hatcheries in greater numbers than needed for broodstock or other purposes. These fish are often salmon or steelhead from state, federal, or tribal hatcheries. Surpluses can occur when environmental conditions support higher survival rates, fish escape harvest, or when fishing regulations to protect natural-origin salmon and steelhead limit harvest opportunities.
As part of the required federal permits to operate hatcheries, WDFW must limit the number of adult hatchery-origin fish that escape to the spawning grounds. Removing these fish helps to limit interactions between hatchery fish with natural-origin fish, preserving genetic diversity, and reducing competition for space and resources among natural-origin fish.
Any benefits associated with surplus fish, such as supplemental community nutrition programs or enhancement opportunities, are secondary. WDFW does not increase or overproduce hatchery fish to support these uses. Surplus fish occur within the biological and environmental variability inherent to hatchery operations, not as a management objective.
“Surplus isn’t the goal, but it is inevitable for successful hatchery production and WDFW turns it into a win by putting those fish to work for communities, ecosystems, and the people who rely on them,” said Eric Kinne, WDFW hatchery division manager.
Making use of surplus hatchery fish
WDFW removes excess hatchery fish through adult fish collection facilities (AFCs) like weirs, traps, and ladders. Once collected, surplus fish serve a variety of purposes, including:
Helping to enhance nutrients along streams for the benefit of other fish and wildlife:
Distributed along waterways, hatchery surplus carcasses can provide food for aquatic insects and other species that juvenile salmon, steelhead, and other fish eat, a natural way of recycling. Just this month, WDFW and the Tri-State Steelheaders distributed more than 1,500 fish carcasses from adult salmon previously used for hatchery spawning in southeast Washington’s Tucannon River. More information about this project, and the suite of benefits nutrient enhancement helps to support, is available in our blog and on WDFW’s website.
Providing a nutritious food source to communities via food banks
As a high-quality protein source, food-grade fish are processed and donated to Northwest Harvest, a statewide food bank that services all 39 of Washington’s counties. On average, more than 100,000 fish are donated annually to be processed for Northwest Harvest at no cost to the state. Smaller local food banks also pick up fish from hatcheries. For example, in fall 2025, the Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH), a nonprofit organization, partnered with the Kiwanis of Issaquah and Issaquah Fraternal Order of Eagles to process and deliver about 275 pounds of coho salmon to the Issaquah Food Bank and Renewal Food Bank in Bellevue.
The program began in 2025 after receiving permits from WDFW along with food service training. Refer to the City of Issaquah website for more information.
Enhancing sport fishing opportunities
When available, surplus adult hatchery steelhead are annually stocked in various year-round lakes and ponds along the coast and southwest Washington as part of an ongoing effort by WDFW to provide anglers with additional fishing opportunities with minimal impact on natural-origin fish populations. In the past, WDFW has stocked steelhead in landlocked waterways such as Black, Cases, Snag, and Western lakes in Pacific County, as well as Kress Lake and Horseshoe Lake in Cowlitz County. More information is available in our blog post. For fish stocking information, refer to the WDFW fishing and stocking reports webpage.
Adult relocation for additional harvest opportunities
In some instances, salmon and steelhead may be relocated to different sections within their watershed to create additional angling opportunity. By moving adult fish to different locations, anglers can encounter and legally harvest them over a broader stretch of water, extending the recreational benefit without increasing hatchery production.
Funding for community-driven salmon recovery projects across Washington
For more than 30 years, WDFW has had a competitive bid process in place to select a contractor to remove all carcasses as requested from state run facilities regardless of the condition of the fish. All revenue generated by the sale of surplus fish under this contract provides funding for Washington’s 14 Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs). The RFEGs create partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies; tribes; local businesses; community members; and landowners. Through these collaborative efforts, RFEGs help lead their communities in successful fish recovery efforts, restoration, education, and monitoring projects. Refer to the WDFW website for more information about RFEGs.
Other uses for surplus hatchery fish
Surplus hatchery fish are also used in tribal ceremony and subsistence purposes and as well as to support environmental education and research.
WDFW always works to put surplus fish to the best use, but when they’ve been treated or lost to disease, they can’t safely be used for food, habitat, or nutrient enhancement. In those cases, burial or landfill disposal is the responsible option to protect the watershed and prevent contamination.
WDFW’s surplus hatchery program is critical to how we as fishery managers implement conservation-minded fisheries and support local communities across Washington. For more information about our hatchery surplus program, refer to WDFW’s fish hatcheries website.
These efforts are part of a broader strategy to balance salmon conservation with commercial and recreational fish harvests, while also addressing the needs of local communities. WDFW plays a crucial role in managing these resources and ensuring their sustainable use.
