Releasing trout

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June 2, 2011

Poage’s project eventually could be a boost for anglers

Anonymous The Independent The Daily Independent Thu Jun 02, 2011, 06:00 AM EDT

ASHLAND — The streams of northeastern Kentucky are not known for their bountiful trout fishing, but some fifth-graders at Ashland’s Poage Elementary School are doing their part to change that.

On Friday, the next-to-the-last day of school for the year in Ashland, the students of teacher Tandy Nash completed a nine-month, hands-on science project by releasing about 50 rainbow trout fingerlings into the Little Sandy River near the dam that forms Grayson Lake.

It marks the second year that Nash’s students have released tiny trout into the stream, but the students say the project already has become a “tradition.” In fact, many of the children — and Nash — maintained a part of that tradition Friday by of giving the fish a kiss before releasing them into the care of Mother Nature.

The project is sponsored and funded by Trout Unlimited, a national conservation movement of anglers and one of many examples of how those who love to hunt and fish are among the nation’s best conservationists. Local businessman Mark Hanni is a member of Trout Unlimited and has worked closely with the Poage students from the time the trout were still eggs until their release into the Little Sandy.

With the help of other sponsors, Trout Unlimited bought an aquarium, supplies and fish eggs and set up the Poage classroom for the project. Throughout the school year, Nash’s students monitored the fish tank, watched the eggs hatch and nurtured the fish as they grew. They began the project last fall with 150 eggs and released about 50 fingerlings Friday. A high mortality rate is not unusual for such projects, but the students were more interested in the trout that survived than those that did not.

The trout project is an excellent way to teach young people about nature in a practical and worthwhile way. The students learn about conservation and the great outdoors and witness how in the animal kingdom it is usually survival of the fittest.

Just what will become of the trout the students released is unknown, but Trout Unlimited and the students hope the trout not only will survive but thrive and multiply. And if future anglers have a successful day of trout fishing in the Little Sandy and its tributaries, the students then will know that their science project was a complete success.

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