Hatch & Release
Acai Scheller described the life cycles he had witnessed in Mrs. Hodges classroom, he knew it was time to put the Coho in the lake. Photo by Charlie Ebbers.
Charlie Ebbers - CRR Staff
Two hundred coho salmon eggs came to Jennifer Hodges’s third, fourth and fifth-grade classroom at the Kenny Lake School this past January. The class watched, waited, and learned about how salmon come to be. They monitored the water temperature of the classroom tank.
In early February, the eggs started to move. Careful observation would reveal the eggs had transformed from eggs to eyed eggs. By the end of February, they hatched.
Once the eggs hatch, they are called alevin, small fish with nutrient-rich sacs attached to them. Student Acai Scheller noted how fragile the creatures are. “They die easy,” he said. About 35 of the original eggs did not survive.
At first, the alevin hid among the rocks. By the end of March, the alevin started to lose their sacs and become fry. With the nourishing sacs gone, the fry needed food. The students started feeding them.
On May 17, the school kids released the fry into Strelna Lake. This project was a partnership between the Copper River School District and the Copper River Watershed Project.
Kate Morse Program Director of the Copper River Watershed Project, retrieves the fry from the classroom. Morse says that most of the kids who graduate in the Copper River Basin have had to wear a pair of chest waders at least once. Photo by Charlie Ebbers.
Mrs. Hodges lines up the class, and gets them ready for the cold waters of the lake. Photo by Charlie Ebbers.
Addy Kurtz, Raiden Buck, Liam Hutchinson, Styrling Anderson, Kai Buck try out their waders. Photo by Charlie Ebbers.
Preston Shangin-Kosbruk baits a minnow trap with salmon eggs. Photo by Charlie Ebbers.
Killian Cooley gently released his former classmates into Strelna Lake. Photo by Charlie Ebbers.
More from Charlie Ebbers:
Golden Spring: Golden Eagles Dominate the Sky Above the Copper River Basin
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