Crystal Lake Hatchery is operated by SSRAA under contract to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sport Fish Division is located 17.5 miles south of Petersburg just off Mitkof Highway near the city of Petersburg's hydroelectric power plant.  Crystal Lake at an altitude of 1,300' supplies water to the power plant, the hatchery uses water from the tailrace.

Crystal Lake has three chinook project, a) broodstock is collected from adults returning to the hatchery, 600,000 of the resulting smolts are released back into Crystal Creek as 20 gram smolts, b) 450,000 Crystal Creek smolts are transported to net pens in Anita Bay where they are held and reared for several weeks prior to release, c) 500,000 Chickamin River stock chinook eyed eggs are transported to SSRAA's Neets Bay Hatchery and placed into freshwater seabags.  The smolts are transferred from freshwater rearing the following spring to saltwater net pens for rearing then release in late May.

The coho program at Crystal Lake is much smaller, a release of 100K smolts from Crystal Creek broodstock are returned to Crystal Creek each year, this number could be increase in years of low chinook escapements.

Kevin Chase, Asst. Mng. (left). Loren Thompson, Mng. (right)

Justin Evans, Fish Culturist