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.
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