Housed on the grounds of D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, the National Fish & Aquatic Conservation Archives (NFACA) is a national program within the Fish & Aquatic Conservation Program of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The NFACA collection collects, preserves and shares the stories of the history, culture, management, resources, challenges, and successes of the Fish & Aquatic Conservation Program. The artifacts and records encompass the breadth and depth of its history, which goes back to 1871. The U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, as it was then called, is our nation’s oldest federal conservation agency (and is now part of today’s U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).

The D.C. Booth hatchery staff established the NFACA Collection in the early 1970’s. Today the collection comprises over 2 million objects and archival documents from our fish stations, past and present, across the United States.

Our Services

Research: Limited space and staff affect NFACA's ability to accommodate researchers, so NFACA generally cannot conduct in-depth research for patrons other then pulling materials for their  research and use. Exceptions may be made for agency research requests. Access to materials is dependent upon their physical condition and level of processing to date by staff and volunteers. If you would like to inquire about researching the collection or set up a research appointment, please email the archives staff.

Tours: Tours of the archives are available by making an appointment with the curator. A sampling of the collection is on display next door in the National Fish Culture Museum which is open mid-May through September.

Can I donate to the archives?



If you are interested in donating an object to the museum collection, please send an email to the the archives staff. In your email, please include whatever background information you have about your object or archival material, with images, if possible. The information you provide will help the curator make a final decision and will increase the research value if the item(s) are accepted into the collections. We currently have about 1.8 million fisheries documents and 14,000 objects. We are interested in annual reports, photographs, log books, tools, equipment, etc. from the fisheries arm of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.