A Part of American Life
Welcome sign for Private John Allen Hatchery. Credit: USFWS
Established in 1901, Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery is located in Tupelo, Mississippi. The hatchery is named after the representative who appealed to the Congress in his famous ‘hatchery speech’: “Fish will travel overland for miles to get into the water we have at Tupelo . . . thousands and millions of unborn fish are clamoring to this Congress today for an opportunity to be hatched at the Tupelo hatchery.”
Today, quality water helps ensure a quality brood stock of Gulf Coast walleye. Behemoths like paddlefish, alligator gar, and lake sturgeon are cultured here for restoration projects. Striped bass are also produced and stocked as part of a large national restoration effort. National Wildlife Refuges are benefited by thousands of largemouth and bluegill produced and stocked by the hatchery. Private John Allen NFH raises a variety of fish specifically to host the parasitic stage of mussels as part of a multi-hatchery mussel conservation partnership.
The Economic Impact
Warmwater fish stocked for recreational fishing, such as largemouth bass, bluegill, striped bass and walleye, have a tremendous economic impact. For every tax dollar spent for recreational fish production at Pvt John Allen NFH, $4.87 of net economic value is created. This amounts to a total economic output of more than three-quarters of a million dollars every year! This economic stimulus comes from taxes generated, jobs created, and retail sales (like gas, food, lodging, rods and reels, and bait and tackle), all of which are created because of the recreational fish stocked out of Pvt John Allen NFH. The amount of taxes generated in one year alone could make up half the entire budget for Pvt John Allen NFH’s yearly recreational fish production. Pvt John Allen NFH is one of eight National Fish Hatcheries across the Southeast that is responsible for $26.8 million in annual economic benefits through warmwater recreational fish production. For more information download the factsheet.
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