(WFRV) – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced just how many fish had been restocked throughout the state’s inland waters and the Great Lakes in 2022.
A release provided by the Wisconsin DNR on Wednesday states that over six million fish were stocked in the past year to fill stocking quotas that are established by fisheries biologists.
Every year, the DNR raises millions of fish to stock into waterbodies across the state.
Stocking helps boost natural fish populations, maintain or restore existing fisheries, and support recreational fishing opportunities. Stocking is also used to evaluate management actions or propagation techniques.
Wisconsin DNR
Listed below is the complete list of the types of fish and the amounts that were stocked in 2022.
2022 inland stocking summary:
| Species | Total Number Stocked |
| Brook trout | 232,896 |
| Brown trout | 315,981 |
| Lake sturgeon | 12,421 |
| Lake trout | 78,099 |
| Largemouth bass | 114,241 |
| Muskellunge | 41,970 |
| Northern pike | 48,181 |
| Rainbow trout | 267,198 |
| Walleye | 1,588,918 |
2022 Great Lakes stocking summary:
| Species | Total Number Stocked |
| Brook trout (LM) | 50,021 |
| Brown trout | 475,701 (LM) 140,839 (LS) |
| Chinook salmon (LM) | 893,650 145,095* |
| Coho salmon (LM) | 412,273 |
| Lake sturgeon (LM) | 4,185 |
| Lake trout (LS) | 88,027 |
| Muskellunge (LM) | 3,029 |
| Steelhead (LM) | 850,772 150,497* |
| Splake (LS) | 47,770 |
| Walleye (LS) | 109,850 |
*These fish were raised by the Michigan DNR and were stocked by Wisconsin DNR staff. They helped supplement Wisconsin DNR stocking quotas but are not included in the Wisconsin DNR’s stocking database.
Officials say the provided numbers “do not include fish supplied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the stocking of fry or any other private or tribal hatchery stocking events.”
More information about stocking data from previous years or stocking numbers for a specific location can be found here.
