In 1980, Kilkeel Angling Club approached the Fisheries Division who ran the Bushmills hatchery to purchase immature stock to augment the small numbers of salmon which remained in the Whitewater system. The Bushmill’s Hatchery provided numbers of eyed ova which were implanted in suitable areas in the river. In the following years, serious consideration was given to the building of a small hatchery to provide stock to enhance the salmon population in the Whitewater . By 1983 a small hatchery was established and the first brood stock were trapped. The resulting unfed fry where released into the river. By 2008 the hatchery was producing up to 250,000 fry per year in a greatly enlarged, well equipped facility.

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Since then, the hatchery has been upgraded and maintained by club members, and is no doubt responsible for the impressive return of sea trout that the river experiences.