News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Federal Decision Keeps TN Fish Hatcheries Open

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander says a decision by the Department of the Interior means that Tennessee fish hatcheries will remain open. Alexander said in a release yesterday that the nearly 900,000 Tennesseans who buy fishing licenses depend on the hatcheries to replace trout destroyed by federal locks and dams. The state's fish hatcheries are located in Erwin and Dale Hollow. Fishing advocates had feared that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report expected to be delivered next month would recommend the closure of hatcheries. Alexander said he was informed by the Interior Department has instructed the Fish and Wildlife Service to work on a long-term solution with Congress, state wildlife agencies and fishing groups.