The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) Armstrong State Fish Hatchery in McDowell County, north of Marion, sustained significant damage as a result of flooding and landslides during Hurricane Helene.
Some of the hatchery’s trout escaped during the flooding; however, most of the 600,000 fish of various sizes died when the storm compromised the water supply to the raceways and hatchery building.
Currently, Armstrong State Fish Hatchery is closed indefinitely. Fisheries staff along with agency engineers continue to assess the damage and are developing plans to return the hatchery to normal operations…