[ODFW-News] Students receive hands on education at Hatchery Research Center

[ODFW News]

For Immediate Release Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Students receive hands on education at Hatchery Research Center
 
SALEM - Students with Oregon State University's Saturday Academy will
explore the Oregon Hatchery Research Center April 8 to examine salmon
and steelhead and learn about the role these fish play in the ecosystem.
 
Students will participate in two learning sessions at the center. In the
first session, ODFW Fish Health Specialist Craig Banner will discuss how
fish adapt to their environment. He will teach students about the salmon
and steelhead life cycles and how important the cycle is to the entire
ecosystem. Students will use a microscope to dissect and examine fish
and will learn about fish anatomy. 
 
HRC Facility Manager Ryan Couture will guide a tour of the Hatchery
Research Center, and students will get to net, handle and measure
juvenile migrating salmon and steelhead from floating fish traps.
Students will learn to identify juvenile salmonid species.
 
The Saturday Academy cooperates with business, education and
professional communities to provide learning opportunities in science,
mathematics and technology. Classes, held after school and on Saturdays,
are small and hands-on to enhance the learning process for students in
grades 5-12.
 
The goal of the Oregon Hatchery Research Center is to answer scientific
questions related to fish recovery and hatchery programs, including the
differences that may exist between wild and hatchery fish, and how to
manage those differences. The Oregon Hatchery Research Center is a
cooperative research project between the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the Oregon State University Department of Fisheries and
Wildlife.