Our Hatchery

Our quality Channel catfish begin their lives in our Inverness, Mississippi fish hatchery, where under controlled conditions, eggs specially selected for specific growth characteristics are placed in nursery ponds to mature. The hatchery incorporates 875 acres of fingerling ponds and provides some of the best quality fingerlings found in the industry. 
 
Fertilized eggs are collected and placed in hatchery with fresh blended well water to a specific temperature to mature. In about 15 days swim up fry are placed in nursery ponds. When the fingerlings reach 4-7″ long they are transferred to larger clay-based grow-out/fish food ponds ranging in size from 10 to 12 acres and approximately 4 to 6 feet deep. The fish will remain in these ponds for about 18 months until they are ready for harvesting by our seining crews.

Workers harvest catfish eggs to transport back to the hatchery where they will be placed in a climate controlled environment until they hatch and can be transferred back into our ponds. After these “fry” are placed in the ponds, they will mature into “fingerlings” and can be transported to our grow-out/fish food ponds until they reach full size in about 16 to 18 months.

The controlled temperature hatchery tanks are constantly aerated to keep fresh oxygen flowing and to mimic the natural environment of the pond until they can mature enough to be relocated back to the nursery ponds for further growth and development.
Eventually, the catfish “fry” are moved back to the ponds, they will mature into “fingerlings” (below left) and can be transported to our grow-out/fish food ponds where they will live until they reach full size in about 16 to 18 months and are ready for harvesting and processing.

We specialize in U.S. Farm-Raised Channel Catfish. We chose this species because of its firmness along with its mild flavor and flaky texture. Each generation begins with hand selection of the male and female parents. Parents are counted and evenly distributed into a newly cleaned pond for acclimation prior to breeding season. This natural, non-invasive process is time and temperature controlled. Breeding cans are closely monitored to remove newly laid eggs which are then transported to the hatchery for a 95-98% rate of egg to fry survivability.

FINGERLINGS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
We have every size from fry to 8-inch fish. They are hatched and raised at our fingerling farm in Inverness, MS. We take pride in delivering high-quality, healthy fingerlings. We will appreciate the opportunity to fulfill your fingerling needs. Contact Steve Henderson 334.216.1911 or Jonathan Henderson 662.704.0065 for any questions or to place an order.