Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program

Before they are released, these brood fish provide eggs for the restoration program's fry-stocking efforts. Each year, N.H. Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and conservation groups stock over one million fry in the Merrimack River and its tributaries.

While the brood stock program has generated a lot of enthusiasm among anglers, the sport-fishing opportunity is secondary to the overall goal of restoring salmon, shad and river herring to the Merrimack River. Once wild salmon return in significant numbers, the brood stock program will be phased out. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides Federal funding that helps support the Merrimack River Anadromous Fish Restoration Program, which includes the Merrimack River Brood Stock Fishery.