Who We Are What We Do Activities Brochure Visit Us Links Home

Coasters are native brook trout that live a portion of their lives in the Great Lakes or in the ocean along the Atlantic coast of North America. They migrate up tributaries to spawn, where fry will grow in nursery areas of streams, protected from predators until they reach 3 to 6 inches. They then migrate to the oceans/lakes to feed and grow.

Adult coasters will return to their birth streams when they are mature, usually in about 3–5 years. Coasters differ from other types or "strains" of brook trout generally by the habitats they live in and the great size that they attain. Record trout of over 10 pounds (4.5 kg) have been documented in some populations, but the average fish encountered range from 1 to 4 pounds (.5-2 kg) in weight.

Genoa National Fish Hatchery is cooperating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Iron River National Fish Hatchery, the Ashland Fishery Resource Office, the Grand Portage tribe, and the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota to restore the coaster brook trout to its native range on the southern shore of Lake Superior.

Genoa NFH is acting as a clearinghouse to ensure that wild coaster eggs do not have infectious fish diseases that may affect other existing hatchery propagation programs being carried out by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The eggs of wild spawned brook trout are brought into Genoa NFH from Isle Royale National Park, located in the middle of Lake Superior, and isolated for up to two years. These fish, now 10 inches long, are tested for fish diseases and eventually cleared for transfer to other broodstock hatcheries, where they continue to grow and produce eggs for restoration programs in Lake Superior.

Genoa NFH also serves as a reserve brood stock maintenance facility for several strains of coaster brook trout, as well as producing thousands of fingerling and yearling trout for restoration goals within the Great Lakes region. Skip navigation links

In addition to our work on Lake Superior brook trout, the facility also carries out a similar program for wild populations of Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from Lake Superior. As with the coaster program, station biologists assist other agencies and Fish and Wildlife offices in the collection of eggs from wild populations of lake trout on this largest of the Great Lakes. These eggs, like those of the coaster, are hatched in the station's isolation facility, where they will be reared for several seasons until the proper disease clearances have been granted. From here the fish travel to one of several National Fish Hatcheries to serve as brood stock for restoration efforts across the Great Lakes region.

Both of these programs represent one of the first steps in a long-term effort to restore important and valuable fishery resources to the Great Lakes and the American people.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service