Norfolk National Fish Hatchery - Mountain Home, Ar. - Fish Hatcheries on Waymarking.com

Who We Are
The Norfork National Fish Hatchery is one of many units in the National Fish Hatchery System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service also manages more than 500 national wildlife refuges across the country. As the nation’s primary steward of ?sh and wildlife resources, the Service provides leadership in habitat and wetlands protection; ?sh and wildlife research and technical assistance; and in the conservation and protection of migratory birds, anadromous ?shes, certain marine mammals, and threatened and endangered species.

Norfork National Fish Hatchery is located in the mountainous terrain of north Arkansas near Mountain Home. Established in 1955 and opened in 1957, the purpose of Norfork National Fish Hatchery is to meet the fishery mitigation needs arising from the Corps of Engineer projects in the White River in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.

The upper White River has been altered by the construction of four multi-purpose dams along its course. The construction destroyed the warm water riverine habitat and replaced it with cold tailwaters. Beaver Dam and Lake are the uppermost impoundment. From there, the river flows through Table Rock Lake, Lake Taneycomo and finally through Bull Shoals Reservoir. Tributary impoundments are Norfork and Greers Ferry.

What We Do
Federal fish hatcheries have been part of our nation’s resource management efforts for more than 100 years. Hatcheries can be warm water, cool water or cold water.

Norfork National Fish Hatchery is a cold water hatchery primarily for the production of trout to restock the tailwaters below Norfork, Bull Shoals and other dams. In addition, Norfork National Fish Hatchery also provides trout to reservoirs and in cooperation with state game and fish agencies distributes fish throughout Arkansas and other nearby states. Resource managers across the country acknowledge hatcheries as a valuable tool for the preservation of our nation’s fishery program.

Norfork National Fish Hatchery was established to raise trout for restocking areas impacted by construction of dams, primarily in the tailwaters of Norfork and Bull Shoals. The hatchery is responsible for raising three kinds of trout: rainbow, brown and cutthroat.

How We Do It The hatchery receives fertilized eggs from other hatcheries in special shipping containers. When the eggs arrive at Norfork they are placed into large hatching jars. The eggs will begin to hatch in approximately two weeks after they are placed into the hatching jars.

After the eggs hatch they are placed in aluminum troughs or tanks, where they will stay until they are about 2-3 inches long (about 3-4 months old). After the fish reach this size they are placed in the raceways outside where they continue to grow until they are large enough to stock. This happens when they reach 11 inches in length (about 22 months). When the fish are small they are fed 5-6 times a day and they will be fed only about twice a day just before being harvested and stocked. Hatchery fish are raised, harvested and stocked year-round.