"America's pristine waters once supported plentiful and robust fisheries. Our Nation's natural treasures appeared to be abundant without end. The United States fueled the Industrial Revolution with resources of water, timber, minerals and wildlife. Then the fish began to disappear..." This statement came from a brochure I picked up recently at an Arkansas Fish Hatchery. With interest I read about the history of the Commission on Fish and Fisheries, the first Federal agency dedicated to the conservation of natural resources.
With the Industrial Revolution came problems which affected our water quality and marine life. Industrialization brought pollution and natural distruction. Mills and factories dumped their waste in the waterways. Dams were erected. Obstructions and altered stream flows changed the fishes' habitats and food source. Water temperatures changes, aquatic life died, diseases spread. A lot has been done to clean up the damage done to waterways by the Industrial Revolution. Yet, even with such organizations as the Commission on Fish and Fisheries who are dedicated to the conservation of our natural resourses, America's fish are still in danger and aquatic habitats are declining. Funds for the first National Fish Hatchery was appropriated in 1872, over 130 years ago. Yet, more than 100 kinds of fish are listed on the Endangered Species Act, even with recovery efforts being in force for years. 
To help restore and preserve the species, the Fisheries Program raises native fish and other species and works to restore their habitats and healthy ecosystems. The particular Fish Hatchery that we were visiting this hot August afternoon was the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, near Norfork Lake in northern Arkansas. After a wonderful fishing trip on Lake Norfork, where we were fishing for stripers and walleye, my husband and I decided to stop and visit the hatchery. Tommy and I strolled along the tanks observing in amazement the hatchery-reared German brown and rainbow trout which ranged from tiny babies to some really large trout! The long rectangular holding tanks held what appeared to be thousands upon thousands of 4 inch fingerlings. These fingerlings will be fed and tended to until they are 9-10 incihes long and ready to be transferred to streams for us to all enjoy.
The hatchery-raised trout are normally distributed in remote areas of the rivers and streams in an effort to promote growt
h and reduce the chances of being caught by anglers. Fishing regulations are designed to protect these species for at least two years, giving a mature female brown trout the chance to spawn at least once before being caught. The release of these fish are made annually and usually in the cool winter months when the fishing pressure is the lowest and the fish are less apt to be captured by an eager angler.
Trout fishing was virtually unknown in Arkansas until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created the Norfork and Bull Shoals Lakes after WWII. The Norfork Hatchery was completed in 1957 and is one of the states's most successful trout-producing facilities. The trout fishing industry exploded after Mike Manley of North Little Rock caught a 38 pound, 9 ounce brown trout in the tailwaters of Norfork Dam in 1988. Though not the present day record... this fish brought a lot of attention to the sport of trout fishing.
The National Fish Hatcheries locate
d at Norfork, Greers Ferry and Mammoth Spring produce over two million trout for Arkansas water each year. The trout fishing industry plays a huge role in Arkansas' outdoor recreation. Towns like Hardy, Norfork and others benefit greatly from the tourists who come from miles around to fish the rivers for trout. The season never closes. The trout fishing is good even in the fall and winter months, so whether you're fly fishing, fishing with a spinning reel or your Snoopy pole, Arkansas offers some great opportunities for the most exciting and unique trout fishing experiences ever, thanks to the efforts of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commissions and the fishery programs.
