Salmonids in Your Classroom

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is pleased to support salmon incubation in your school. Raising salmon in the classroom is an opportunity to teach students to understand, respect and protect freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems, and to recognize how all humans are linked to these complex environments.

Resources

• "Salmonids in the Classroom" is a required learning resource and can also be downloaded as pdf files. (Primary or Intermediate)
• Additional activities for classrooms registered in Salmonids in the Classroom include salmon dissections, stream studies and access to hatchery programs/field trips

Timeline

• Applications are accepted in the fall of each year
• Eyed-eggs are delivered to classroom aquariums in January
• Eggs hatch in February, alevins become fry in March, students feed for 2-3 weeks and release fry to a local stream from April to no later than May 15

Equipment

• A 20 gallon aquarium and complete set-up is provided by Fisheries and Oceans
• Salmon eggs and food for the fry are provided by Fisheries and Oceans
• You are encouraged to keep the aquarium for participation each year, and purchase necessary consumable supplies annually (approx. $50)
• Clean 5 gallon bucket (purchase for water changes and fry transport to release site)
• Water test kits (purchase ammonia, pH and nitrite kits)

Set-Up

• The aquarium requires continuous electricity to run an air pump
• The aquarium water requires continuous cooling to 10C

(This is achieved by circulating cold tap water through plastic tubing inside the tank, but may also include frozen ice bottles, or a purchased refrigeration unit ($1,000). Depending on location and/or school district, additional guidelines exist, such as plumbing/backflow requirements and restrictions due to septic fields or wells).

Our goal is to help students become aquatic stewards. Our focus is from Stream to Sea