Waterfowl GuideA distinct section of Charted Waters, for hunting rather than fishing. Looking for fishing instead? →

Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge

Photo by USFWS Northeast Region, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. (opens in a new tab)

Verified

Confirmed against an official or primary source as of the date shown.

Directly confirmed via a live WebFetch of the refuge's own 'About Us' page, which explicitly and unambiguously states general public closure. A separate hunting-activities page on the same refuge site returned only generic, templated boilerplate ('hunting is allowed following all State seasons...') that appears to be shared refuge-hunting-page copy not specifically tailored to this refuge's real access status — rather than trust that ambiguous, more-permissive-sounding boilerplate over the refuge's own direct and specific public-closure statement, this record is seeded as closed. Excluded from huntableAreas() by its accessStatus.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge, About Us · Last checked 2026-08-10

Closed / Sanctuary AreaClosed to Hunting

Waterfowl hunting is not permitted here. Directly confirmed via USFWS's own refuge "About Us" page: "Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge is closed to the public... Because of the critical nature of its habitats for wildlife, Fisherman Island is closed to the public." The only public access is a guided tour program (Saturdays, October-February, pre-registration required) — not open hunting access. A separate refuge hunting-activities page returns only generic templated hunting-program language that does not specifically confirm a waterfowl hunt exists here; given the refuge's own explicit general-public-closure statement, this project treats the area as closed rather than resolve the conflict in favor of the more permissive-sounding boilerplate.

Managing authority: Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS)
City / county: Northampton County
Location precision: A specific named place, as published by the source below — not a precise coordinate.
Boat access only: No — some or all of the area is reachable without a boat

Habitat & species context

A barrier island at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, connected to the mainland by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, protecting critical stopover habitat for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.

Major restrictions

The refuge is closed to general public access; the only public access is a pre-registered guided tour program, not hunting.

Last reviewed 2026-08-10.

Boundaries, permit systems, and closures can change. Confirm current rules directly at the managing authority's own page before hunting, and see Licensing & Regulations →