Over 5 Million Fish Stocked Into Wisconsin Waters
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today released the 2024 fish stocking numbers for inland waterbodies and the Great Lakes.
The DNR raises millions of yearling and fingerling fish to stock into Wisconsin waters every year. Over 5 million fish were stocked in 2024, which helped fulfill the quotas submitted by county fisheries biologists.
Stocking helps boost natural fish populations where natural reproduction can no longer support the fishery, maintain or restore existing fisheries and support recreational fishing opportunities. Stocking is also used to evaluate management actions or fish culture techniques.
DNR biologists analyze data collected from present and past surveys to determine which species and quantity should be stocked, along with other factors such as:
- Public input received during the development of species-specific management plans
- Experimental fisheries management strategies
- Specific watershed goals to restore self-sustaining fish populations, maintain existing fisheries or create recreational ones
DNR fish crews stocked fish in inland waters, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and their tributaries across the state in 2024.
The following summaries provide total fish stocked by species in Wisconsin waters in 2024:
Inland Waters
- 231,685 brook trout
- 288,290 brown trout
- 10,945 lake sturgeon
- 86,552 lake trout
- 59,112 muskellunge
- 243,588 rainbow trout
- 1,195,570 walleye
Lake Michigan
- 50,184 brook trout
- 475,045 brown trout
- 1,361,857 chinook salmon
- 517,166 coho salmon
- 1,139 lake sturgeon
- 15,495 muskellunge
- 446,150 rainbow trout
Lake Superior
- 199,885 brown trout
- 60,732 lake trout
- 54,743 splake
This data does not include the stocking of newly hatched fry, fish stocked by private fish farms under a stocking permit, fish stocked by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or fish stocked by our tribal partners.
Visit the DNR’s Fish Stocking database to view stocking data from previous years or specific waters.
