Welcome to Green Lake National Fish Hatchery!

Green Lake National Fish Hatchery (GLNFH) is a large scale, cold water, enhancement facility located in Ellsworth, Maine as part of the Maine Fisheries Complex located in Orland, Maine.  Green Lake NFH was built in three phases with original construction in 1973, a second phase of construction in 1976, and addition of the water treatment plant in 1978.

The Hatchery is part of the USFWS Atlantic salmon restoration/recovery program for Gulf of Maine Rivers.  The primary mission at Green Lake NFH is to provide smolts and parr for these rivers.  Currently, fish are released into the Penobscot River basin (ME), St. Croix River basin (ME), Merrimack River basin (MA-NH), Saco River basin (ME-NH), and the Dennys River basin (ME).  Green Lake NFH releases 650,000 yearling Atlantic salmon smolts and 350,000 fall parr each year.  The biological production at GLNFH has been relatively consistent since operation began in 1974.  However, the mission at the Hatchery may change with the addition of more river-specific, endangered Atlantic salmon smolts reared at the station.

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