Fish Hatcheries in Arkansas
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and state game and fish commission work together to stock Arkansas waters with fish via hatcheries throughout the state. Fish hatchery tours are fun and educational for adults and children.
Established in 1965, the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery produces rainbow trout for restocking in the cold tailwaters of Greers Ferry Dam, as well as below other dams and in suitable reservoirs. This hatchery is located at 349 Hatchery Road in Heber Springs. (501) 362-3615
Opening in 1957, the Norfork National Fish Hatchery is a cold water hatchery that primarily produces trout for the tailwaters below Norfork and Bull Shoals dams. More than 2 million rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout are raised and stocked throughout Arkansas and surrounding states annually from this hatchery. The Norfork hatchery is located at 1414 Hwy. 177 S. in Mountain Home. (870) 499-5255
Arkansas has five state-owned fish hatcheries. Four of them are warm water facilities - Hot Springs, Centerton, Lonoke and Corning. Mammoth Spring is a cold water hatchery that produces trout.
- Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery, Hot Springs, 1-877-525-8606
- Charlie Craig State Fish Hatchery, Centerton, 1-877-795-2470
- Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery, Lonoke, 1-877-676-6963
- William H. Donham State Fish Hatchery, Corning, 1-877-857-3876
- Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery, Mammoth Spring, 1-877-625-7521
In Diamond City near Bull Shoals Lake, a new $1.3 million fish hatchery is expected to open in the summer of 2006. The AG&FC hatchery for crappie will host a nursery pond and dam on a tributary of Bull Shoals Lake. The 21-acre facility is being built with a 75-25 matching grant from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Including trout, more than 20 million fish a year are stocked into Arkansas's waters.
