Hooked on salmon project
Some classrooms have goldfish swimming in a bowl.
At Gore’s Longford Intermediate, they have salmon swimming in a tank.
As Triana Morton teaches her students, 50 tiny chinook salmon swim happily away at the back of Room 10.
Ace Kawenga, Tommy Balloch and Jordan Gilson, all 13, are the classroom’s fish monitors, charged with raising the young fish from eggs until they’re old enough to be released into the nearby Mataura River.
‘‘We had to apply for the job,’’ Kawenga said.
And it’s a job that’s quite involved. ‘‘Every morning, lunchtime and after school we have to feed the fish,’’ Tommy said
‘‘We have to do an ammonia test in the water and if that’s too high we have to clean out the tank and put new water in.’’
Jordan said cleaning out the tank was ‘‘actually quite fun’’.
‘‘You have to use a little suction hose and try not to suck the fish up it.’’
The boys are doing a good job – so far there have only been two casualties, Morton said.
‘‘Our focus is on sustainability this year and this is a great way for the whole class to learn about that because they’re learning about the life cycle of the fish. They arrived as eggs and hatched, and are now fish.
‘‘I had a tank in the class last year as well when we were focusing on water quality and it tied into that too.
‘‘It’s teaching them a lot about responsibility and they’re really enjoying it.’’
Morton is tasked with the job of caring for the salmon at the weekend.
Last year only nine salmon were released from Room 10’s tank but a better strike rate this year looks promising.
‘‘We had a bit of an issue with them jumping out of the tank last year.’’
In November, they’ll be released into the Mataura River.
‘‘They’ll go out to sea, spawn and then come back and lay eggs so another class can maybe have some,’’ Jordan said.
Room 10 is one of 12 in Southland raising chinook salmon as part of a Fish and Game programme.
Southland F&G field officer Erin Garrick said salmon eggs were provided to each school.
‘‘Kids get excited about fish in classrooms and watching them grow to the point where they can release them.
‘‘Salmon are quite sensitive to water quality so kids learn that if they don’t change the water in their tanks when they need to the salmon will start dying, so that’s a lesson that we need good water quality for all of the species that survive in our waterways.’’
‘‘Our focus is on sustainability this year and this is a great way for the whole class to learn about that . . .’’ Triana Morton, teacher