Gone Fishin'

This weekend, boys from Tiverton and Little Compton Cub Scout Pack 10 had an opportunity to tour the Lafayette Fish Hatchery in North Kingstown, and see how the trout stocked in Rhode Island streams are raised. This tour is one of the many educational programs that are available to youth groups at no cost to them through the Rhode Island Department  of Environmental Management Aquatic Resource Education program: http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/fware.htm.

One of the tanks was filled with one-pound fish, which are typically in the 18 month old range, and are ready to be transported around the state for stocking. There were almost 4000 of these fish in the tank, and the kids got a really close look at them. If you’ve never seen a brook trout up close, it’s a beautiful fish, and there were many comments from the kids about how colorful they were.

Another highlight was a good look at the golden trout that will be stocked at Meadowbrook Pond in Richmond for a fishing event during free fishing weekend, May 5^th and 6^th. These fish are striking; you can see in the photo of the tank how much they stand out. It was a real treat for these kids to get a close look at them.

There are many educational programs like this one available, and I’m always surprised that more people don’t take advantage of them. I’d encourage you to post any programs that you know about so that our kids get the most out of them.