A state-run fish hatchery in Woodruff is getting some major upgrades.
The state has allocated more than four million dollars for improvements to the Art Oehmke hatchery. They include new disinfection systems for fish eggs and for the water coming into the hatchery.
As DNR Fish Cultures Section Chief Dave Giehtbrock explains, the changes will help achieve goals set by the Walleye Initiative.
“The increased biosecurity helps with the walleye over the summer. So when we are able to disinfect eggs and then keep the water cleaner, it helps us maintain a healthy fish population for stocking.”
Construction will also add three new rearing ponds.
Giehtbrock says the facility hasn’t been upgraded in over a decade, and that improvements to any state hatchery are rare.
The hatchery raises muskellunge and walleye for stocking in northeastern Wisconsin lakes.
Washburn County’s Tommy Thompson Hatchery is also seeing two and half million dollars of upgrades.
