Author photo

By Brianna Wray
the Times 

Waitsburg First-Graders are Raising Salmon

Project with Tri-State Steelheaders is first Salmon in Schools program in the area

 

November 8, 2018

Brianna Wray

Carson Scott and Lencio Flores marvel at a newly hatching egg. Mrs. Hinchliffe's kids could also tell which egg had died.

WAITSBURG-Students at Waitsburg Elementary are taking on a new responsibility this year: raising salmon. First-grade teacher Stephanie Hinchliffe is leading the project with the help of Andrew Bassler from the Tri-State Steelheaders.

The project made its way onto Waitsburg Elementary School radar through a chance meeting.

"My husband [Waitsburg city administrator Randy Hinchliffe] heard about this organization looking for a teacher willing to raise these salmon and I said-uh, yeah I want to take this on, it's so cool!" said Hinchliffe.

Bassler, education coordinator and avid fly-fisherman, is passionate about educational outreach and partnerships, working directly with kids to explain the necessity of sustainability in terms they can understand.

Bassler brought a 40-gallon freshwater tank for the 125 eggs in the first graders' charge. Wild eggs typically remain in the gravel of a riverbed throughout the winter as the embryos develop. There the eggs are subject to danger from predators, he said.

Generally in the wild, the eggs will hatch in the spring and alevins will emerge. The rate of the egg development is dependent on water temperature. The students' tank is held consistently between 49-50 degrees. With more ideally regulated conditions, comes a higher yield.

"We got our eggs Oct. 17 and they're hatching as of this morning, the 29th. This is a little early," says Hinchliffe. "We were expecting Halloween babies."

A higher-than-average number of the eggs have survived, with only one seeming to have perished. The distinction is clear, the dead egg is white and inactive. The others will hatch as alevins.

The alevins break free of the egg, but have their yolk sacs attached to their bodies, absorbing the nutrients within until they are able to reach the surface of the water to gulp air. Doing this helps fill their swim bladder to gain neutral buoyancy, making swimming easier. Once an alevin can swim freely, it becomes a fry. Fry have eight fins to help them keep their position in rushing waters.

As the salmon develop vertical stripes and spots for camouflage, they become parr. Once the parr have grown to between 10 and 25 cm, they undergo the smolting process. This is a pre-adaptation necessary for the salt regulation required for ocean swimming.

From smolts, the salmon reach adulthood. If they're able to reproduce and make the journey again, they reach kelt status. However, mortality rates for salmon increase significantly following reproduction.

Mrs. Hinchliffe's first grade class is currently the only one participating, but the Tri-State Steelheaders have created useful curriculum and teaching materials available for first to fifth-grade levels.

Taking the example of the first graders' salmon success, the Salmon in Schools program may expand.

Brianna Wray

Andrew Bassler describes the lifecyle of salmon in terms first graders can understand.

Base funding for the Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups, of which Tri-State Steelheaders is one, comes from a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, a portion of state commercial and recreational fishing license fees, and excess egg and carcass sales administered by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. More information on this organization can be found at tristatesteelheaders.com.

Tri-State Steelheaders is a community-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy salmon and steelhead populations in southeast Washington, northeast Oregon, and north central Idaho.

In order to achieve their mission of restoring sustainable populations of native salmonids, the group works closely with landowners, volunteers, tribes, conservation organizations, private corporations and state and federal agencies to implement education and research programs.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 02/24/2024 19:57