What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm Thursday 8am - 4:30pm Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Delaware DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife

Home
United States
Dover, DE
Delaware DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife

Call Directions Website

The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware's fish and wildlife resources.

Division of Fish and Wildlife has worked to conserve and manage Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources, provide safe and enjoyable fishing, hunting, and boating opportunities to citizens and visitors, and improve the public’s understanding and interest in the state's fish and wildlife resources through information and outreach programs.

11/02/2026

🌊🪼 We’re a day early, but tomorrow is National Jellyfish Day! 🪼🌊

Jellyfish may look delicate as they drift through the water, but these fascinating animals have been around for more than 500 million years — long before dinosaurs ever walked the Earth!

Jellyfish don't have bones, a brain or even a heart. Instead, their bodies are mostly water, and they use a simple nerve net to respond to their surroundings. Their tentacles are equipped with specialized stinging cells called nematocysts, which they use to capture prey and defend themselves.

And that classic jellyfish “swimming” motion? It comes from contracting and relaxing their bell-shaped bodies, although many jellyfish also rely on ocean currents to carry them from place to place.

Jellyfish are an important part of marine food webs, serving as both predators and prey. Several species can be encountered in waters along the Delaware coast and in the Delaware Bay, particularly during the warmer months.

So tomorrow, take a moment to appreciate these strange, ancient drifters! The next time you see one in the water, remember that you're looking at an animal that has been around for hundreds of millions of years. 🪼

📷: Robert Michelson

10/31/2026

🎃👻 Happy Halloween from Delaware’s wild side! 👻🎃

Forget the haunted houses — Delaware’s forests, wetlands, fields and waterways have plenty of spooky residents of their own!

Bats swoop through the night sky hunting insects, owls silently patrol the darkness and spiders spin their mysterious webs. Even the humble opossum has a Halloween-worthy trick up its sleeve: when threatened, it can involuntarily “play dead” to fool a potential predator!

And let’s not forget the creatures that are active after dark. Many of Delaware’s wildlife species are nocturnal, meaning Halloween night is practically their time to shine. While we’re out collecting candy, they’re busy hunting, foraging, calling, flying and exploring under the cover of darkness. 🌙

So whether your Halloween plans involve trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins or enjoying a cozy night at home, keep an eye — and ear— out for the real creatures of the night!

What Delaware animal would you choose as your Halloween mascot?

Have a safe, spooky and wildlife-filled Halloween! 🎃

10/30/2026

The Delaware Hunters Against Hunger Program (DHAH) will place a mobile refrigerated trailer at White Clay Creek State Park for the Tuesday and Wednesday of the General Fi****ms Season (Nov. 17 and 18). This self-service unit allows hunters to donate legally harvested deer. The trailer will be located at the parking area for the lottery station at 195 Smiths Mill Road, Newark, DE 19711. All deer donated must be field dressed and registered before being placed in the unit. Green Tags that are present at the must be affixed to the deer with all the information on the tag filled out and attached to the deer, to include registration number, hunters name, and the zone the deer was harvested in. This program only accepts deer harvested in Delaware and cannot take road-killed or out-of-state deer or other game species, all deer harvested will be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) prior to being donated for consumption. For more information on CWD please visit the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s page on Chronic Wasting Disease at de.gov/cwd. DHAH, run by the Delaware DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife has given hunters a means to donate their excess deer meat to those in need since 1994.

📷: Division of Fish and Wildlife Staff

10/30/2026

🎣 Fishing Report for Friday, October 30, 2026.

The strong northeast winds continued this past week and continued to make fishing difficult. White perch and catfish are still being caught in the tidal rivers and along the shoreline from Augustine Beach on down to Woodland Beach. Striped bass, including legal size striped bass, were caught in the Delaware Bay tidal creeks. White perch fishing and crabbing were both good in the Broadkill. Tog were caught at the Indian River Inlet and at Masseys Landing.

Those braving the Surf didn’t catch much, mostly skates.

When boats made it out to the Inshore Ocean, they caught black sea bass.

In Freshwater, two citation rainbow trout from the White Clay Creek fall stocking were reporter and anglers have been catching bass in Silver Lake Dover.

Fall is usually the best time for black sea bass fishing.

📷: Angelique Rivera

10/28/2026

🏹 Attention Archery Shooters!

Beginning on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Ommelanden Range will be offering a new 3-D Archery Range.

Step off the firing line and into the woods for an immersive shooting experience designed for bow hunters and outdoor enthusiasts of all skill levels. Come navigate a wooded course featuring 16 realistic wildlife targets — from white-tailed deer and turkey to black bears and boars, along with a few other surprise targets.

Expect to see a fully marked, one-way trail system with clear safety zones.

Don't forget, Ommelanden Range also offers a practice/sight-in archery range with elevated platforms and flat practice lines for archers to come and tune your sight marks before hitting the trail.

The Practice/sight-in range is $3 per 1/2 day with targets at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 yards. The 3-D range is $10 per round with targets at 15, 25 and 30 yards.

📸:DNREC Ommelanden Range Staff

10/27/2026

🐟 Happy National Sturgeon Day!🐟

If you spotted a sturgeon swimming through Delaware’s waters, you might think you were looking at a fish from prehistoric times — and you wouldn’t be far off! Sturgeons are ancient fish that have been around for hundreds of millions of years, long before many of the animals we know today.

Delaware is home to Atlantic sturgeon, a large, long-lived fish that can be found in the Delaware River and Bay. They are anadromous, meaning they spend much of their lives in saltwater but return to freshwater rivers to spawn. Atlantic sturgeon can grow to impressive sizes, with some reaching more than 6 feet long!

Instead of having scales like many familiar fish, sturgeons have rows of bony plates called scutes along their bodies. They also have a long, pointed snout and four barbels near their mouth that help them locate food along the bottom. Their diet includes aquatic insects, worms, crustaceans and other small organisms.

Atlantic sturgeon have faced significant challenges over the years, including habitat loss, pollution, dams and historical overharvest. Today, they are protected, and conservation efforts continue to help these remarkable fish recover.

So, this National Sturgeon Day, take a moment to appreciate one of the oldest fish species swimming through Delaware’s waters!

📷: Ian Park

10/27/2026

Piping Plovers enjoy nesting success with slight numbers dip; Least Terns get big bump from DNREC protection.

Delaware DNREC announced today that piping plovers – a federally-listed threatened and state-listed endangered species – experienced significant Delaware nesting success in 2026 despite a slight decrease in adult plover pairs.

Ten pairs of piping plovers were recorded nesting at The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife in 2026 – a record high for the site since intensive monitoring began in 1989. Fifteen nesting pairs were documented this year at Fowler Beach on Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, for a total of 25 nesting pairs statewide, slightly down from 30 pairs in 2025.

Statewide, Delaware’s piping plovers produced fewer fledglings than in 2025, with 25 chicks raised to fledging, or flying age (25 days old), compared to 27 last year, but doing so with five fewer breeding pairs. Productivity – calculated as fledglings per breeding pair – was 1.08 in 2026, just below the average productivity since 2020 of 1.29 fledglings per pair.

Piping plovers still face many challenges across their breeding territories in Delaware. The ever-present threat from red foxes, coyotes, ghost crabs and other predators pose a significant hazard to nests and chicks. Weather conditions also created challenges for the birds this year, with severe storms, prolonged heat waves and drought contributing to chick and nest loss during this critical and vulnerable period.

Working towards piping plover recovery in Delaware and along the East Coast involves partnerships between DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife and Division of Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services.

📸: Delaware DNREC- Chris Bennett

10/22/2026

Fishing Report for October 22, 2026

The strong northeast winds of the past week have made fishing difficult. White perch and catfish are still being caught in the tidal rivers and along the shoreline from Augustine Beach on down to Woodland Beach and along the C&D Canal. The crabbing was good in the Broadkill. Tog were caught at the Indian River Inlet and at Masseys Landing.

The wind made the Surf impossible to fish and kept boats from fishing the Inshore and Offshore Ocean.

In Freshwater, a citation rainbow trout from the White Clay Creek stocking earlier this week was reporter and anglers have been catching crappie in the ponds.

Fall trout fishing is here.

📸: Michael Cox

10/21/2026

🎣 Trout Stocked in White Clay Creek for Fall and Winter Angling Opportunities Upstate

Rainbow trout were stocked today in White Clay Creek in northern New Castle County to provide anglers opportunities to fish upstate Delaware for trout in the fall and winter. About 1,000 pounds of rainbow trout were stocked from near the Pennsylvania state line downstream to Newark.

Trout anglers are reminded by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife of the following rules and regulations:

- A Delaware fishing license is required, unless an angler is exempt (a status which still requires an angler to obtain a Fisherman Identification Network (FIN) number).

- A Delaware trout stamp is required through Nov. 30 to fish in White Clay Creek, as well as other designated trout streams stocked earlier this year, unless an angler is exempt.

- Trout fishing is open one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset, unless otherwise restricted by area rules.

- The daily possession limit is six trout, except for a daily possession limit of four trout when fishing in or within 50 feet of the designated fly-fishing-only section of White Clay Creek.

Through the program managed by the DNREC Fisheries Section, trout are purchased from hatcheries and stocked in selected streams and ponds using revenue from anglers’ purchase of Delaware trout stamps. Trout stocking in Delaware is also supported by federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sport Fish Restoration funds generated by anglers purchasing fishing equipment.

Rainbow Trout by Duane Raver, Jr.

10/21/2026

🐢🐍🦎 Happy National Reptile Awareness Day! 🦎🐍🐢

Reptiles might not always get the same attention as furry mammals or colorful birds, but they are an important part of Delaware’s wildlife. From turtles basking on logs to snakes quietly moving through forests and fields, reptiles can be found in a surprising variety of habitats across the state.

Delaware is home to several species of turtles, snakes and lizards, each adapted to its own environment. Turtles can spend their days basking in the sun or searching for food in wetlands, snakes help regulate populations of rodents and other prey, and our native lizards can often be spotted soaking up the sunshine on logs, rocks and other elevated surfaces.

One of the most important things we can do for reptiles is simply give them space. If you encounter a snake, turtle or lizard outdoors, observe it from a safe distance and allow it to continue on its way. And if you see a turtle crossing the road, slow down and give it plenty of room — especially during the warmer months when turtles are more active and females may be traveling to nesting areas.

Reptiles are an important part of healthy ecosystems, and every species has a role to play. So today, we're giving a little extra appreciation to Delaware's cold-blooded wildlife!

📷: Kevin Fleming

Address

89 Kings Highway
Dover, DE
19901

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 4:30pm
Friday	8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+13027399910

Website

https://de.gov/fw

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Delaware DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.