Edenton National Fish Hatchery

Bring the kids out for some free fishing fun! **7am to 1pm**

The hatchery aquarium and grounds are now open to visitors on the weekend from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

UPDATE: Roofing and boardwalk construction are complete. Both have reopened for public use/access.

Check out our hatchery feature on the latest PBS NC regarding the recovery and propagation of the federally endangered Cape Fear Shiner. See, firsthand, some of the great work going on behind the scenes between the us and our partners as we work to recover this species to the North Carolina Piedmont.

Protecting a Tiny, Shiny Fish | Sci NC | PBS NC Sci NC’s Michelle Lotker discovers how NC organizations partner to save the endangered Cape Fear shiner, a tiny native fish that turns gold during breeding s...

Edenton National Fish Hatchery is happy to announce the return of our popular fishing derby for National Fishing and Boating week sponsored by the Chowan Edenton Optimist Club. Since we are still finishing up our construction, we need your help to make it the best possible experience for everyone. We’ll only have one pond (catfish only) to fish instead of our usual two ponds.

We ask that groups only keep 3 fish per child fishing.

This limit will ensure that groups move in and out so everyone will get a chance to fish. We are glad to be back fishing at any capacity and look forward to fishing with everyone June 17th! Fishing is from 7am to 1 pm.

Today we help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of establishing the Endangered Species Act by featuring endangered Cape Fear shiners raised at Edenton National Fish Hatchery in North Carolina. The federal government and the state of North Carolina classify the Cape Fear shiner as endangered. These fish are native to Cape Fear River Basin in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Edenton National Fish Hatchery, the Raleigh Endangered Species Office, and the state of North Carolina are working to propagate and release these fish into areas of the Cape Fear River Basin where their numbers are extremely low or where they no longer exist. http://ow.ly/jZoI50Nh03U
Photo USFWS Brandi symons

Edenton NFH staff recently completed stocking the last of the 3,361 Lake Sturgeon into the French Broad River. Photo Credit: Brandi Symons, USFWS

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and every day, we remember with heavy hearts all the innocent souls who lost their lives that day, including 38-year-old U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge manager and law enforcement officer Richard Guadagno: http://ow.ly/cOWz50G5Jn6

Richard’s life, wildlife conservation career, and love of public lands left a lasting positive impression on many, including his colleagues.

Richard was one of almost 3,000 Americans to die at the hands of terrorists on September 11, 2001. He was the only federal law enforcement officer aboard any of the four hijacked flights on 9/11.

In Richard’s honor, Congress named the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and Visitors Center in California in his name in 2002.

📷: USFWS

Hatchery boardwalk access to Pembroke Creek is temporarily closed due to construction on the well house.

Also, as a public health precaution, the Public Aquarium at Edenton National Fish Hatchery is temporarily closed for the safety of staff and visitors.

Last week hatchery staff were shocked to find that our Gopher tadpoles had finally developed into Gopher Frogs!!

Photo 1 and 2: Gopher Frogs resting on artificial lily pads
Photo 3: Gopher Frogs being harvested from minnow traps

80 Gopher Frogs were recently stocked into remote locations in their native pine forests.

Photo Credit: Jimmie Garth, USFWS

Recent record breaking Lake Sturgeon captured and released by USFWS in Michigan!

Lake Sturgeon we stock into the Tennessee River as part of the Southeastern Lake Sturgeon Management plan have the potential to be this large many years from now.

A once in a lifetime catch for our Detroit River native species crew last week! This real life river monster was tipping the scales at 240 lbs, measuring 6'10" long, and a girth of nearly 4'. Caught in the Detroit River, this fish is one of the largest lake sturgeon ever recorded in the U.S.

Based on its girth and size, it is assumed to be a female and that she has been roaming our waters over 100 years. So, she likely hatched in the Detroit River around 1920 when Detroit became the 4th largest city in America 😮🦕

EDIT: She was quickly released back into the river after being processed!

🔷🔷We're excited to share this great news with everyone. With the numerous media requests, we are directing them to our External Affairs coordinator, Larry Dean. You can reach him at 612 713 5312 or at [email protected]🔷🔷

Photo: Staff laying next to adult lake sturgeon on deck of boat by Jason Fischer/USFWS.

Our construction project will continue through 2021 at the hatchery. While we are happy to have our aging infrastructure replaced, we are sad to announce that we won't be able to have any fishing derbies again this year. We encourage you to take a kid fishing, and hopefully by next year, kids will be fishing at the hatchery again.

Recently crews from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Aquarium, and North Carolina State University Center for Marine and Sciences Technology (CMAST) collected Gopher Frog egg masses. Eggs will begin hatching over the next several days where they will then be transported back to the hatchery to begin rearing trials.

Photo Credit: Jeff Hall, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

Moss Balls containing invasive Zebra Mussels were recently found in North Carolina pet stores!!!

Help us in raising awareness and stopping the spread of all invasive species !!

NEW SPECIES ALERT: GOPHER FROGS

Hatchery staff were joined by representatives from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Aquarium, and North Carolina State University Center for Marine and Sciences Technology recently collected Maidencane. The Maidencane, a grass substrate, allow the tadpoles to grow and development during propagation by mimicking natural conditions in the wild.

Updates on our progress will be coming soon.

Photo Credit: Carol Price, North Carolina State University Center for Marine and Sciences Technology

This week officially wraps up a long Striped Bass production season. In total hatchery staff we were able to raise, and distribute a total of 187, 839 Phase-II Atlantic Striped Bass between 4 to 6 inches in size. This is equivalent to 15,377 pounds fish!! Of the 187,839 total fish stocked, 96,863 were stocked into the Neuse River while 90,976 stripers were stocked into the Tar River. We look forward to even better production in 2021! Farewell Stripers, farewell!

Photo Credit: USFWS

We harvested our derby pond today. There were LOTS of LARGE Channel Catfish and Hybrid Striped Bass. They will be placed into a new home (pond) where they continue to grow larger in preparation for derbies next year. Get ready kids… these fish are going to try and break your lines!!! Photo Credit: Jimmie Garth, USFWS