Mora National Fish Hatchery

Mora National Fish Hatchery is one of only seven federal fish hatchery technology centers. Mora has been mainly involved in the recovery and restoration of the endangered Gila trout, a fish found only in the headwaters of the Gila River in New Mexico and Arizona. Scientists working at Mora have learned to keep the rare trout in tanks with woody cover and water current flows that mimic the natural river flows. They also keep the trout in company with other naturally occurring fish from the area, like Sonoran and desert suckers. All of this began as an attempt to retain some of the natural wild characteristics of the trout to improve their chances of survival once they were re-introduced to their natural waters. As a result of their efforts, the Gila trout has been downlisted from endangered to threatened.

A Gila trout

Mora NFH is now working to establish a brood stock of Rio Grande cutthroat trout and the bonytail chub. Mora National Fish Hatchery also works to train other fish biologists to carry on similar work in other places.