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Salmon Go To School - (The Spey Research Trust, 01/06/2000)
Pupils and teachers in various Speyside primary schools recently became managers of their own classroom hatcheries thanks to a project carried out by the Spey Fishery Board and grant aided by Scottish Natural Heritage.
This year salmon went to school at five local schools including Aberlour Preparatory, Abernethy, Carrbridge, Mosstodloch and Milne Primary, Fochabers. An illustrated talk, by Spey bailiff Jim Woods introduced the pupils to the lifecycle of the salmon, its struggle for survival and the Spey Fishery Board's role in protecting and managing the resource. Spey Board staff then set up a classroom hatchery with around 250 salmon eggs in each school. Good husbandry is essential for the success of the project and in each school the children worked hard to maintain low water temperatures, remove any dead eggs and record all events in a daily diary.
Their efforts were rewarded with the salmon eggs in all five schools successfully hatching into alevins. The alevins were then retained in the tanks for a few weeks allowing the pupils to observe and study their development into fry. The project concluded with the return of the salmon fry to their natural environment.
The children took their newly hatched progeny to a nearby burn for release, wishing them well on their long and difficult journey.
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