C.D. "Buzz" Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility

Hatchery information

Hatchery hours

Open in the summer, fall and spring any day of the year during daylight hours. (Note: hours are subject to change without notice)

Brochure

Download the Besadny brochure [PDF]

Fish processing

If you are interested in watching fish being processed, call ahead. The staff should be able to let you know 3-4 days in advance if the fish will be processed.

Please note: the lobby is closed to the public during the winter, December 15 to March 15.

• Wheelchair accessible
• Restrooms & water fountain in the building
• Smoking is not permitted in the facility/grounds

Hatchery location

N3884 Ransom Moore Lane Kewaunee WI 54216

Partners

Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen
Algoma-Kewaunee Great Lakes Sports Fishermen

Besadny Fish Facility works in partnership with the Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen in Manitowoc and the Algoma-Kewaunee Great Lakes Sports Fishermen to protect and enhance the Great Lakes sport fishery. The Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen operate a rearing pond for BAFF in Manitowoc.

Our ponds

Besadny Fish Facility operates two ponds located off-site of the main facility. They are located in Manitowoc and near Kewaunee.

Manitowoc

The Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen, in a partnership with the DNR, operates a cold-water trout and salmon rearing facility at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc. The organization has raised and released over 5,000,000 trout and salmon into Lake Michigan. The species raised at the Manitowoc pond are brook trout, brown trout, Coho and Chinook salmon, and steelhead trout.

Kewaunee

BAFF staff operates a cold-water trout and salmon rearing pond a few miles outside the city of Kewaunee. The species raised at the Kewaunee pond are Coho and Chinook salmon.

Contact

Austin Gabrielse

Visiting

Information and educational displays lead visitors on a self-guided tour and provide basic information on trout and salmon life history, facility operation, and other related subjects. The self-guided tour takes visitors near the dam, along the bypass channel to the underwater viewing windows and up the fish ladder to six holding ponds. Interested viewers can then enter the lobby area where they can watch the spawning crew at work through large viewing windows. In addition, visitors can hike the nature trails (River Trail and the Ice Age Trail), stroll by our large prairie gardens, and view wildlife!

To schedule a tour for a group, please contact the facilities manager for more information. BAFF also has a teacher’s guide available upon request.

Please note that fish are not always present at the facility. If you are interested in scheduling a tour or visiting while fish are here, please refer to the schedule below.

• March-Early May: Spring Steelhead
• Mid-September - Mid-November: Chinook Salmon
• Mid-September - Late October: Coho Salmon
• Mid October - Late December: Seeforellen Brown Trout

History

Trout and salmon have been stocked into Lake Michigan since the early 1960s to control the population of the invasive alewife. Prior to the construction of BAFF, the DNR relied partly on other agencies for eggs and/or fish of several species or strains to maintain the trout and salmon sport fishery in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan.

On-site development of BAFF began in 1989 and the first fish and eggs were collected in the fall of 1990. Construction of the processing building concluded in 1996 and includes a lobby area for public viewing of spawning operations and display areas.

Fish production

BAFF serves as an egg collecting station. Once the eggs are fertilized, they are shipped to the Wild Rose or Kettle Moraine hatcheries where they will raise the fish until they are ready to be stocked. The fish are stocked into many of the Lake Michigan tributaries, including; the Kewaunee and Root Rivers.