The illinois department of natural resources (idnr) division of fisheries provides the guidance, goals, and objectives to direct fisheries management in illinois including the oversight of 1.6 million…

The illinois department of natural resources (idnr) division of fisheries provides the guidance, goals, and objectives to direct fisheries management in illinois including the oversight of 1.6 million acres of water. The fisheries and aquatic life management statewide objectives include providing a diversity of quality angling opportunities through appropriate management of self-sustaining fish populations supplemented by the judicious use of hatchery-reared fish. The illinois fish hatchery system, which consists of 3 hatcheries located strategically throughout the state, was designed and is operated to help meet this objective. The function of the hatchery system is to produce fish stocks necessary to restore, establish, or sustain sport fish populations in lakes and rivers and lake michigan in order to diversify sport fishing opportunities through supplemental production and stocking of hatchery reared fish. Another management objective is to produce healthy FRY and fingerlings that will contribute to the fishery and to prevent the introduction amplification, or spread of fish pathogens that could negatively affect the health of both hatchery and naturally reproducing stocks. The purpose of the f-121-d grant is to annually maintain the illinois fish hatchery system and its operations in order to provide for the propagation and rearing of various fish species to be distributed statewide to state and public waters open to public angling. Fish produced by the hatchery system are utilized in stocking of newly impounded or chemically rehabilitated public waters, supplemental stocking of existing fish populations with poor recruitment, and establishment and maintenance of sport fisheries in existing waters. The project objective for f-121-d-033 grant is the production of up to 19 different fish species and the stocking of over 13 million fish into over 400 illinois public waters. These stockings will help provide quality angling days for illinois fishermen and women and address the mission of the division of fisheries to conserve and enhance the state s fisheries and aquatic life resources. Increased illinois fishing license sales over the past several years indicates that there is a continued need for the hatchery system to produce fish stocks to supply quality fishing days for these anglers.