CONSERVATION
Classroom Hatchery Program
by Dave Hodgetts
Several years ago members of the Georgian Triangle Angler’s Association became interested in the Atlantic salmon classroom stocking program developed and funded in part by the Ont. Fed. of Anglers and Hunters, MNR and corporate sponsors. We thought that this was a great way to get students interested and involved in the science of fish stocking and the club decided to try this program in the Collingwood area. This program encourages high school science departments to raise Atlantic salmon fry in a classroom tank and then release these fish into streams that enter Lake Ontario.
The OFAH provides a manual to help schools develop this program and supplies one hundred fertilized eggs to the participating schools. The eggs are incubated in a classroom hatchery environment until they hatch and become small fingerlings. These small salmon are fed for some time and then released into streams that flow into Lake Ontario. It is all part of a huge restocking program to bring back Atlantic Salmon into Lake Ontario. Our club decided to encourage schools to take up this challenge.
To date, with encouragement from the GTAA, two schools have incorporated this program into their grade eleven science program. The first school, Lakefield College School, began the program in the fall of 2009 and purchased all the materials needed including an expensive cold water system shipped in from PE.I. The program has been successful and as of May 1st their fingerlings were about two inches long and will be released in Cobourg Creek. The Georgian Triangle Angler’s Association decided to have schools closer to Collingwood participate and to provide them with fertilized steelhead eggs instead of Atlantics. Several schools were approached and John Michalenko, science head at Vanier High School, was very keen.
The GTAA club purchased a 20-gallon tank, filter and water pump while John and his students provided and set up a cooling system using a water cooler. The outside of the tank was insulated with foam and the water temperature cooled to below 18 degrees, a good temperature for the steelhead eggs.
In early May, eyed up eggs were delivered to Vanier and placed in the tank where they remained for about a week before they began hatching. It was an exciting day when the students saw the first tiny fry swimming about. In no time at all, most of the eggs hatched and at last count there were in excess of 300 fingerlings. Not bad for our first efforts!
During May and June the students monitored the tank temperature and fed the fish on a daily basis. This first experiment was very successful and we have learned some interesting facts about how water temperatures and oxygen content are vital to growth and success. On Friday, June 9th John Michalenko and his science students along with GTAA volunteers took the fingerlings to the Pretty River near the school and release them. It is our hope that a few of these fish will safely enter Georgian Bay, grow and return in several years to spawn in the Pretty River.
The GTAA has been stocking rainbow trout for many years into the local rivers in order to sustain a healthy run of steelhead trout in our area. In the last ten years club volunteers have raised and released more than a million fingerlings that enter into rivers such as the Pretty, Silver, Nottawasaga, Bighead and Beaver. It is our hope that other schools in the area will become interested in this fascinating, hands-on science program.
To view a video of Vanier students and their participation in the Jean Vanier High School Fish Hatchery Program, please click HERE.
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Photos courtesy of ChadsCustomPhotos |
HATCHERY
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| Hatchery trays holding rainbows, browns and speckled trout. | |
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| Two views of the Hatchery |
STREAM RESTORATION PROGRAMS
A primary mandate of the GTAA is towards stream restoration - particularly with two cold water rivers, the Pretty River and Silver Creek. Please click on the link to read a full report of our activities in this area. GTAA Stream Restoration Programs
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Vanier High School students and staff clearing log jams and beaver dams on the Pretty River. |
Keeping the water flowing allows steelhead trout access to the cold headwater streams. Fast flowing water also keeps the spawning grounds clear of silt and mud. Many volunteer hours are spent in the Pretty River and Silver Creek each year.
HARVESTING EGGS
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