About Us
Established in the 1930s to raise warm-water fish for stocking in lakes and ponds, the Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery now plays a key role in efforts to protect and restore declining populations of freshwater mussels, and in restoring migratory fish to Atlantic coastal waters.
For many decades, the hatchery produced and stocked bream, catfish, bluegill, crappie, and bass in public, military, and private waters to support recreational fishing in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Beginning in the 1980s, the hatchery transitioned to supporting just the restoration of important migratory fishes of the Chesapeake Bay, producing and stocking millions of young fish, such as American shad, into rivers in Virginia and Maryland. The hatchery also raises alewife and blueback herring which are a valuable commercial and recreational species, and are a critical food source for marine fish.
We added the production of native freshwater mussels to our mission in 2007, to recover imperiled species and restore biomass and abundance of these ecologically important, filter-feeders in our rivers. Like oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, freshwater mussels play a vital role in maintaining habitat and water quality in our rivers. We are growing and stocking mussels in rivers in Virginia, Maryland, and parts of North Carolina.
Our Mission
Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery is just one of the many field stations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service whose mission is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
Our History
The Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery was constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, taking advantage of an existing millpond (now called Harrison Lake) and mill race built in 1790 on property that was part of Berkeley Plantation. The plantation was the site of the ancestral home to the Harrisons, which included Benjamin Harrison V (signatory of the Declaration of Independence), and President William Henry Harrison (9th president); Benjamin Harrison (23rd president) was the grandson of William H. Harrison and great grandson of Harrison V.
During the Civil War following the Seven Days' Battles, Federal troops camped on the property for two months in the summer of 1862 after being repulsed from Richmond. Remains of their defensive earthworks are still visible on the property. The Federals withdrew from the area to intercept and stop the Confederate Army's first invasion of the North at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland.
For many decades, the hatchery produced and stocked bream, catfish, bluegill, crappie, and bass in public, military, and private waters to support recreational fishing in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Beginning in the 1980s, the hatchery transitioned to supporting the restoration of important migratory fishes of the Chesapeake Bay, producing, tagging, and stocking millions of young fish into rivers in Virginia and Maryland. Over the past ten years, the hatchery diversified its operations to include freshwater mussels, which help maintain water quality and habitat quality in our rivers.
