Salmonids in the Classroom

At ARPSES, we are proud to have involvement of Abbotsford schools in raising junvenile coho salmon. The "Salmonids in the Classroom" program includes the raising of  eggs  in controlled aquarium environments within classrooms. Students come to the hatchery to be involved with the harvesting of salmon eggs. 

In preparation for our Salmonids in the Classroom program, Bev Bowler, Fisheries and Oceans Education Coordinator, runs training sessions at the hatchery for the teachers who will have tanks in their classrooms.

Learning about tank set up and maintenance to ensure the health and well-being of the eggs they will soon receive.

Photo credit: Brenda Calnek

Learning about salmon anatomy through a fish dissection. Teachers can then do the same type of dissection with their students.

Photo credit: Brenda Calnek

Here is a wonderful website/resource created by Bev Bowler to help teachers who have tanks their classrooms. 

Learning about fish anatomy and physiology during a salmon dissection. Teachers can then do the dissection with students in their classes.

Photo credit: Brenda Calnek

salmoncalendar-color.pdf

A quick reference guide for monitoring and raising salmon in a tank.  

Students learn to calculate ATUs (Accumulated Thermal Units) which tell them how far along a coho salmon is in its development.  By tracking the ATUs, students will be able to predict when their eggs will hatch, when it is time to feed the fry and when it is time to release them to the wild.

Students learn about the life cycle of the Pacific coho salmon from beginning to end.  

Through our egg take process, students are able to see spawners at the end of their life cycle and participate in the fertilization of coho eggs (the beginning of the life cycle).

Students then raise salmon in their classrooms until they are released as fry into local streams in the spring.

Field ID Guide to Juvenile Salmon copy.pdf

To view this booklet on a separate page, click on the Pop out arrow in the top right corner.

Pacific Salmon and their Cycle of Life video

A chronicle of the life stages of Pacific Salmon, viewed through the lives of coastal Chum Salmon. 

Pacific salmon are of immense cultural, ecological and economic value to people of the West Coast. They are commonly seen, but telling the difference between the species is difficult. This is a comprehensive field identification guide to Pacific salmon in a very functional format. It also discusses the natural history and conservation status of Pacific salmon and explains how to observe these fish in the wild.

 

This guide presents information about and the characteristics of each of the seven Pacific salmon species―sockeye, coho, Chinook, pink, chum, steelhead and coastal cutthroat—organized into five life stages: fry, smolt, post smolt, ocean adult and spawner.

 

There are many excellent photos, but the colour illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri are outstanding. They were drawn painstakingly from real specimens and show every part of each fish, every fin ray and row of scales representative of the species and life stage.

 

This book, available in a soft cover or a waterproof edition, can be purchased from the Pacific Salmon Foundation or your favourite bookstore.

The life cycle of a salmon includes several stages: