Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville. DWR/2016
SACRAMENTO – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced today that the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville will close to the public starting on July 9 for approximately four weeks for routine maintenance and inspections.
Every five years, DWR and CDFW perform inspections and maintenance of the hatchery. This work requires shutting off the water supply to the hatchery and moving all fish out of the hatchery. Accordingly, the Chinook salmon raised in the hatchery for Lake Oroville were planted in the Lake on June 17, 2019 and the steelhead will be transported to the Thermalito Annex hatchery facility for the duration of the project. Once the maintenance work is complete, the steelhead will be transported back to the Feather River Fish Hatchery where they will remain until February of 2020 and then released to the Feather River. During the closure, the fish ladder will be closed preventing any adult Chinook salmon from entering the facility.
The Feather River Fish Hatchery is a State Water Project facility built in the late 1960s to mitigate impacts on fish migration resulting from the construction of Oroville Dam. DWR maintains the facility and funds hatchery operations. CDFW conducts fish spawning, rearing and stocking activities at the hatcheries.
For more information on the hatchery and operations, please visit CDFW’s Feather River Hatchery website.
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Contact:
Ryan Endean, Acting Deputy Director, Public Affairs Office, Department of Water Resources
916-653-9712 | ryan.endean@water.ca.gov
Jordan Traverso, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Communications
916-654-9937 | jordan.traverso@wildlife.ca.gov