A state fish hatchery in Chattooga County is playing an important role in bringing back a species of fish that disappeared from Northwest Georgia’s rivers more than half a century ago.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the Summerville Fish Hatchery is one of the primary facilities raising young lake sturgeon for release into the Coosa River system. The effort is part of a restoration program that began in 2002, with the goal of establishing a naturally reproducing population of the native fish.

Lake sturgeon are among the oldest species of fish found in North America, with ancestors dating back millions of years. They can grow to more than 100 pounds and live for several decades. Their distinctive appearance includes a long body, a flattened snout and rows of bony plates rather than typical fish scales.

Lake sturgeon were once found in the Coosa River system but disappeared from the area around 1960. Their decline was attributed to factors including overfishing, pollution and changes to river habitats.

In 2002, Georgia wildlife officials began working with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to bring the species back. Wisconsin supplies lake sturgeon eggs, which are hatched and raised at facilities including the Summerville Fish Hatchery.

The young fish are carefully raised until they reach approximately four to seven inches in length, when they are released into rivers throughout the Coosa River basin.

According to Georgia DNR, the Summerville hatchery typically produces 4,000 or more young lake sturgeon annually for the restoration effort.

In November 2024, DNR reported that the Summerville facility had completed another successful production season, raising and stocking more than 4,500 lake sturgeon fingerlings.

Since the restoration program began, more than 400,000 young lake sturgeon have been released into the Coosa River basin through the combined efforts of Georgia wildlife officials and federal hatcheries.

There have also been encouraging signs that the effort is making progress. Georgia wildlife biologists have reported increasing encounters with larger, mature lake sturgeon in Northwest Georgia rivers, including fish weighing approximately 25 pounds.

However, the ultimate goal is not simply to stock fish each year. Wildlife officials want the lake sturgeon population to eventually reproduce naturally and sustain itself without continued hatchery releases.

That process takes time because lake sturgeon are slow-growing fish that may require many years to reach reproductive maturity.

For anglers, encountering one of these unusual fish is becoming more possible as the restoration program continues. Lake sturgeon are protected in Georgia, and any fish caught must be released unharmed.

Georgia DNR encourages anglers who catch lake sturgeon to report their encounters to wildlife officials, helping biologists monitor the progress of the restoration effort.

The Summerville Fish Hatchery, located on Fish Hatchery Road in Chattooga County, remains an important part of that effort, helping return a fish that vanished from Northwest Georgia waters decades ago.

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