Public Invited to Senecaville State Fish Hatchery Open House

ATHENS, OH – Anglers have the chance to see fish hatchery operations firsthand when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) hosts an open house on Saturday, June 28, from 10:00am to 2:00pm at Senecaville State Fish Hatchery. This event is free and open to the public.

“We look forward to showing the public how we are using sportsmen’s dollars to create and sustain fisheries in Ohio,” said Nick Jamison, Fish Hatchery Program Administrator.

A number of activities will be held to entertain kids, including a free youth fishing event for kids 17 and younger hosted by the ODNR Division of Wildlife. All bait will be provided. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own fishing poles, but fishing poles will be available for those who need them. Anglers between the ages of 16 and 17 must have a valid Ohio fishing license. Anglers under age 16 are not required to purchase a fishing license in Ohio.

In addition to the youth fishing event, other activities will include:

-Opportunities to view the electrofishing boat;

-Archery activities for youth in attendance; and

-An interactive wildlife learning area featuring Ohio’s bobcats.

Walleye, saugeye, hybrid striped bass and channel catfish are raised at the Senecaville State Fish Hatchery by the ODNR Division of Wildlife, and these fish are stocked in more than 50 reservoirs and lakes, as well as six pools of the Ohio River and 10 pools of the Muskingum River. The hatchery also provides 400,000 channel catfish fry for the Hebron and St. Marys hatcheries, and 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of fathead minnows, which are used as forage food for the muskellunge raised at the London and Kincaid fish hatcheries.

The Senecaville Fish Hatchery collected more than 32 million walleye and saugeye eggs from Mosquito Lake in 2013 and produced 2.1 million saugeye fry and 10.8 million walleye fry. Production efforts also resulted in 1.4 million saugeye fingerlings, 657,000 walleye fingerlings, 1.1 million hybrid striped bass fingerlings, 800,000 channel catfish fry, 48,000 channel catfish yearlings, and more than 4,000 catchable channel catfish.

Senecaville Fish Hatchery is located at 57199 Seneca Dam Road, Senecaville, OH 43780. To learn more about the open house, call 740-685-5541. Find more information about all six of Ohio’s state fish hatcheries at wildohio.com.

The sales of fishing licenses, along with the Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) program, continue to fund the operation of the ODNR Division of Wildlife’s fish hatcheries. No state tax dollars are used for this activity. This is a user-pay, user-benefit program.