What To Expect With Our Salmon in the Classroom Project
Why Are We Raising Chinook Salmon?
The story of the Great Lakes and its fisheries relies heavily on the introduction of salmon. A myriad of stewardship and natural resource conservation lessons can easily be created from the introduction of Chinook salmon into the Great Lakes.
The story of the Great Lakes and its fisheries relies heavily on the introduction of salmon. A myriad of stewardship and natural resource conservation lessons can easily be created from the introduction of Chinook salmon into the Great Lakes.
- Spawning in early fall and released in May, the life cycle of salmon matches perfectly with the length of the school year.
- Students will mirror how the DNR raises Chinook salmon in hatcheries, allowing them to learn first hand how fisheries managers are able to successfully rear millions of salmon each year to stock rivers across Michigan.
- Chinook salmon take food readily in an aquarium setting. Students will enjoy watching them eat. On average, Chinook salmon will be 3 – 5” when released in the spring, so students will have the opportunity to observe substantial growth of their fish during the school year
- Although Chinook salmon survival is limited, those released by students have just as good of a chance of surviving as those stocked by the DNR. Chinook salmon are released into the river during the smolting stage. This is the stage where they lose their juvenile markings which help camouflage them from predators. At this time they will turn to a silver color which is a better camouflage while living in the Great Lakes.