- 1910 Hatchery Drive, Marion, VA 24354
- Hours: Sunday–Saturday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Phone: 276-782-9314
- Map & Directions
- Hatchery Manager: Billy Stickley
The Fish
Marion Fish Hatchery annually produces rainbow, brown, and brook trout. Most of the eggs are collected at the facility and approximately 30 percent are received from other fish hatcheries. Three million eggs are annually incubated at the hatchery, of which 75 percent are diploids, with the other 25 percent being triploids.
Trout fingerlings are raised in concrete raceways inside a hatchery building until they reach a specific size, and then the fish are moved outside to production raceways. The total production of trout is around 400,000 per year. Annually, the Marion Fish Hatchery stocks 33 rivers and five lakes in 10 counties throughout southwest Virginia. These stockings include seven kids’ fish day events throughout the stocking season.
Background
Built in the 1930s, the hatchery is located in Smyth County, 1.5 miles from the town of Marion on Highway 16. Marion Fish Hatchery is a cold-water hatchery owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
The water supply for the hatchery consists of water gravity fed through 12″ cast iron pipes from four different springs and a diversion dam on Staley’s Creek. The hatchery building for the fingerlings is completely spring water that is aerated on six aluminum towers outside of the building. The gravity-fed water from Staley’s Creek mixes with the spring water once leaving the hatchery building to supply the production raceways outside. This gives the hatchery a total water volume of approximately 1,500 gallons every minute. The spring water temperature ranges from 50 degrees F in the winter to 56 degrees F in the summer. The creek water temperature ranges from 38 degrees F in the winter to 70 degrees F in the summer.
The hatchery building consists of 14 vertical egg incubation towers and 23 concrete rearing raceways. The outside production consists of 54 rearing raceways and six large raceways.
Public Access
To schedule a tour of the Marion Fish Hatchery please contact the hatchery by phone.