FAIRBANKS -- The new fish hatchery in Fairbanks had a rocky start, but now things are said to be running smoothly.

There was almost a three-year delay in opening the hatchery while costs for the facility doubled, reaching $50 million. The hatchery officially opened in May.

The first fish eggs were moved into the facility in January. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says the hatchery released its first crop of 5,000 homegrown Arctic grayling two weeks ago. Those fish were raised from eggs spawned from grayling caught in the Chena River.

The hatchery is keeping another 147,000 rainbow fingerlings to grow through the winter. Those fish will be stocked as catchable-size fish next spring for the summer fishing season, along with another approximately 30,000 catchable-size Arctic grayling and Arctic char.