DNR publishes 2023 fish stocking summary

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released the 2023 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 6 million fish were stocked in 2023, 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 fish crews stocked fish in inland waters, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and their tributaries across the state in 2023.

The following summaries provide total fish stocked by species in Wisconsin waters in 2023. In inland waters, the numbers include 204,467 brook trout, 324,422 brown trout, 90,565 lake trout, 80 largemouth bass, 35,786 muskellunge, 108,969 northern pike, 251,508 rainbow trout and 1,964,192 walleyes.

In Lake Michigan, the stocking totals were 49,998 brook trout, 455,253 brown trout, 1,386,492 chinook salmon, 500,189 coho salmon, 591 lake sturgeon, 7,681 muskellunge and 522,852 rainbow trout.

In Lake Superior, 174,906 brown trout, 73,251 lake trout, 40,816 splake and 100,000 walleyes were stocked.

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 (https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/fisheriesmanagement/ Public/Summary) to view stocking data from previous years or specific waters.