The New Jersey Fish and Game Council has temporarily closed Lake Audrey, located south of Millville in Commercial Township Cumberland County, to all fishing. The closure will allow time for the lake’s fishery to fully develop.

The State of New Jersey acquired the 120-acre borrow pit in 2004. At the time, the lake was unable to support any fish due to extremely low pH levels. To address this, the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Bureau of Land Management coordinated with the Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries to initiate a project to enhance the water quality by adding lime to the lake.

In 2006, members of the South Jersey Bass Club Association and NJ State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, along with Division of Fish and Wildlife staff and other volunteers added 136 tons of lime to Lake Audrey to neutralize the pH. Artificial habitats in the form of wooden pallet structures and weighted evergreen trees were also deployed to provide much needed fish habitat.

In 2007 the lake was stocked with smallmouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed and golden shiner, as water quality and habitat were favorable for these species. Union Lake is currently the only waterbody in South Jersey with smallmouth bass.