ATLANTA -- There were snickers across the state when Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a major plank of his economic development strategy: a $19 million project to make the state the most popular fishing destination in the country.

Rolling eyes turned to open criticism when the state issued bonds between 2007 and 2008 to fund the plan. The economy was souring, a drought was dropping lake levels to historic lows, and the governor was preparing to slash billions from other programs to cover a gaping budget shortfall. A November editorial in the Rome News-Tribune, a northwest Georgia daily, compared Mr. Perdue's decision to proceed with his "Go Fish" agenda amid the economic downturn to Marie Antoinette and the suggestion attributed to her that hungry French peasants eat cake.

The plan, the newspaper said, "betrays a level of stupidity, and general insensitivity."

Unswayed, the administration recently began construction on a $14 million "Go Fish Georgia Center," featuring a fish hatchery, visitor's center, and public fishing ponds about 12 miles from Mr. Perdue's hometown of Bonaire. The 15,000-square-foot building will feature interactive exhibits, including fishing simulators where visitors in a fake boat can struggle against computer-controlled fish. Outside, a wooden path will lead visitors through simulated Georgia topography -- from mountains to piedmont to swampland -- as trout, bass and bream swim in aquariums and pools along the way.

Georgia officials claim fishing already generates $1 billion dollar a year and nearly 17,000 jobs in Georgia. They note that the world record for the biggest largemouth bass ever caught -- 22 pounds, 4 ounces -- was set in 1932 on a Georgia lake. Still, the state has never become a major center of fishing. The two biggest pro fishing tournaments, the FLW Outdoors Forrest Wood Cup and ESPN's Bassmaster Classic, had long snubbed Georgia.