Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery

Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery was established in 1981. Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery has flexible and unique capabilities available to produce and study most freshwater and saltwater aquatic species found in the southeastern United States. As a result, the hatchery focuses on a variety of marine, estuarine, and anadromous species (those that make a migratory spawning run from the marine waters of the estuaries and/or the ocean to spawning grounds in the freshwater rivers). Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery production programs include Atlantic sturgeon, American shad, red drum, cobia, Gopher frogs, and the Savannah Lilliput mussel. Additionally, the hatchery is heavily involved in coastal aquatic habitat restoration and the management of non-native aquatic species, especially those that negatively impact recreational fisheries, or local restoration/recovery programs.