Hatchery holds ribbon cutting on renovated facility

MAMMOTH SPRING, Ark. (KAIT) - More trout are expected to be stocked into Arkansas rivers and streams after the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission finished its upgrades to the Mammoth Spring Jim Hinkle Spring River Trout Hatchery.

The upgrades come as AGFC announced it would be doubling down on trout production in the state.

Upgrades include more space for fish production and more, said AGFC Director Austin Booth.

“We are reopening our Jim Hinkle Spring River Trout Hatchery, which is the AGFC’s only cold water hatchery where we produce about half a million trout right now, but we’ll be able to double that production capacity to one billion after today,” Booth explained.

Work began on the project in Sept. 2021.

Employees of the trout hatchery say the space was much needed and allows the hatchery to produce better overall fish.

“It’ll be better for water conservation purposes. Reusing water. We’ll be able to double our production capacity from 500 million to over a billion fish,” said AGFC Director Austing Booth.

For more on the Jim Hinkle Spring River Trout Hatchery, visit AGFC’s website.

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