Here's why few brook trout, Pennsylvania's state fish, are stocked
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Hatcheries produce more than 3 million trout each year in Pennsylvania Scott Brallier, manager of the Reynoldsdale State Fish Hatchery in Bedford County, talks Feb.20, 2025, about what it takes to raise trout each year. Pennsylvania stocks about 3.2 million trout annually, but only 4% are brook trout, the state fish.The number of stocked brook trout has been significantly reduced since 2016 to protect wild populations from gill lice and genetic mixing.Stocking decisions are based on factors like the presence of wild trout, water quality, and which species provide higher angler catch rates.Brook trout are now primarily stocked in waters with low to no existing wild brook trout populations....