The Atlantic Salmon Restoration Project
By Mr. Mark Paradise

In 1798, a dam was built across the Connecticut River just below the mouth of Miller’s River, about 100 miles from the mouth of the Connecticut River. Through references in historical documents, it was believed that at one time, the Connecticut River supported large numbers of Atlantic salmon, and in fact may have once had the largest run of these marvelous fish in New England! It was reported that salmon were to have been found in large numbers for a few years below the dam, but soon they nearly disappeared completely. Eventually, more dams were constructed on the many tributaries of the Connecticut River, and the Atlantic salmon disappeared forever.


Attempts were made in the late 1800’s to restore Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut River by the four states that bordered the river- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. Unfortunately, these efforts failed. It wasn’t until 1967 that the four states combined with the federal government pooled their resources to begin to seriously work toward the restoration of the Atlantic salmon to the river once again.


In 1983, the Connecticut River Salmon Commission was authorized by the United States Congress to oversee the task of administering the anadromous fisheries restoration program in the Connecticut River Basin. Working with the individual state’s fish and wildlife agencies, private industry and the USFWS, fisheries biologists and scientists developed a program that eventually have brought us to the present day.


It is through the efforts these past years that the project to bring back the Atlantic salmon continues. A total of more than 5500 adult Atlantic salmon have been documented returning up the Connecticut River and into her tributaries.


At the beginning of the year I was very fortunate to meet Mrs. Jones, the mother of fifth grader Ethan Jones, during our annual open house. She had heard me mention during the evening that I sponsored a fly tying club. Mrs. Jones told me that her father-in-law was the president of the Connecticut River Salmon Association here in Connecticut. As an avid fly fisherman, this intrigued me because I had recently read in the newspaper that this association has involved hundreds of school children from all over New England in their efforts to restore the Atlantic salmon to one of their historically natural habitats, the Connecticut River. Teachers and their students from Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire have been raising Atlantic salmon from eggs for years, and then stocking the fry in various Connecticut River tributaries. It was my intent to explore the possibility of getting students from East Windsor Middle School involved in this worthwhile project.


After contacting Mr. Jones, I realized that I needed funding due to the cost of the aquarium apparatus and the chiller needed to cool the water to the low temperatures that the salmon eggs would need to stay alive. Through a fortuitous chain of events, Mr. Jones connected me with the Connecticut Fly-Fishing Association and Mr. Robert Winot, and the CFFA graciously agreed to donate the money necessary to fund the project.


Mrs. Mastrangelo, the sixth grade science teacher and Ms. Grosse, a fifth grade teacher agreed to work with me on the project. The three of us went to a seminar hosted by the Connecticut River Salmon Association and learned the basics of the project and how to raise the eggs. We decided that the sixth grade would control the project and that the fifth grade would observe this year.


Mrs. Mastrangelo and I set about getting everything necessary for the project. We needed to order the chiller from a company in California and when it came just before Christmas break, we assembled the equipment needed to raise salmon eggs. The chiller worked fine, and we were ready to begin raising salmon! The eggs were delivered in December by Mr. Robert Winot, of the CFFA, and Mr. James Carroll from the Connecticut River Salmon Association. In all, we were given a total of 200 Atlantic salmon eggs from the National Hatchery located in New Hampshire. The peach colored eggs were very small, but students were able to see each egg’s eyes and spinal cord. Since that time, the sixth grade science students have been keeping journals about the daily status of the eggs. They also take daily water temperature readings and figure out the growth progress of the eggs through a mathematical formula known as the D.I. or the Developmental Index.


On Friday, March 2nd, the first four or five eggs hatched. The following Monday morning, March 5th, brought a great surprise to us when we discovered that nearly 90% of the remaining eggs hatched over the weekend. Our sixth graders are now the proud parents of nearly 200 Atlantic salmon fry!
For the next 8 weeks or so, the fry will feed off of their attached egg sac and continue to grow. Sixth grade students will continue to record their scientific observations and enjoy learning about the life cycle of the Atlantic salmon. In art classes students will be designing large “Artistic Salmon” as part of an ongoing display.


On April 26th, the entire sixth grade will be traveling to the Salmon River in Colchester, CT in order to stock their home grown Atlantic salmon fry with high hopes that many grow to adult size and someday reach the high seas.


New Atlantic salmon eggs in carrier just before      Sixth Grade Students get their first look at the Atlantic              Salmon fish tank, sealed with insulation to keep

being placed in our tank.                                     salmon eggs from the National Hatchery in New Hampshire.       the water cool, and the chiller unit to the right.

Mr. James Carroll from CRSA, holding container      Mrs. Mastrangelo pours the fresh salmon eggs into the       Mr. Slattery gets his first peek at the salmon eggs.

of salmon eggs prior to putting them in tank.               hatching tank.                                                                    Mrs. Mastrangelo, Mr. Carroll, and Tim look on.

  

Mrs. Mastrangelo and students getting first look at    Mrs. Mastrangelo shows how to close the viewing           Mrs. Mastrangelo and Mr. Carroll discuss the

the Atlantic salmon in their new habitat.                     port on the tank.  Deanna and Margo observe.                mathematical formula known as DI, or                                                                                                                                                                                          Developmental  Index in order to determine the                                                                                                                                                                          growth scale of the salmon eggs as they develop.

                                                                                                                                                                  

Mr. Mark Paradise, Deanna, Margo, and Emelie watch as Mrs. Mastrangelo closes the tank cover and puts our new Atlantic salmon eggs to bed.

 

The Atlantic Salmon Restoration Project…The Big Day…Stocking the Fry

By Mark Paradise

 

Since January, the Atlantic salmon alevin had lived in quiet seclusion in a chilled aquarium tank located in “Salmon Central”… a storage closet near Mrs. Mastrangelo’s science room. All this time, they survived by feeding off of their egg sac that was attached to their belly. On April 26, however, they were in for a huge change of scenery! The alevin had matured and become fry and had reached their “stock out” date. Their egg sacs were gone and they now needed to be able to forage for live food on their own. This meant that it was time to remove them from the tank and take them to their stocking site, the Salmon River in Colchester, CT. The day dawned bright and sunny… perfect for stocking salmon fry. Before the students arrived at school, Mr. Robert Winot and Mr. Paradise were busy getting the fry ready for their trip. All the large gravel at the bottom of the tank had to be carefully removed. It was a difficult job since the water temperature was about 34°F, and you could not keep your hands in the tank for very long! When the gravel was finally removed, it was a simple matter to chase the 190+ fry around the bare tank and net them! They were placed in two large cold drink jugs with chilled water, and were ready for the trip to Colchester. The day began with great anticipation as the entire sixth grade class at the Middle School boarded the three buses. Excitement seemed to build as we approached the sign directing us to the Salmon River site. Upon arrival, we all gathered at the riverbank and waited to release the salmon fry into their new home. Mr. Paradise and Mr. Winot carefully scooped one or two fry for each student out of the jugs and poured them into paper cups. Students then chose the best places to release their fry. Even Mr. Slattery, our principal got in the act and was able to release some fry.Once all the fry were released, it was time to switch to stage two of our agenda. Mr. Winot and Mr. Paradise donned their fly fishing waders and proceeded to seine for a variety of aquatic insects. It was quite interesting for the students since we were able to locate stonefly nymphs, cased caddis nymphs, dragon fry nymphs, may fly nymphs and even a couple of tiny yellow native trout eggs. The students each had a multi-page handout with a clipboard and were instructed to sketch each insect sample and try to identify it. Other experiments were conducted on water temperature and river velocity. There was even a poetry writing session held during the activities.After all the excitement and hands-on learning, the children, chaperones and teachers had a wonderful picnic lunch in the shade of the huge pine trees located on the banks of the river. It was truly a wonderful learning experience for all.