Pocopson kids free the fish

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on April 2, 2014

It was a rainy day, but the kids didn’t seem to care and the fish didn’t complain either.

Fifth-grade students at Pocopson Elementary School capped off a five-month long science project by releasing more than 150 baby brook trout — fingerlings — into the Pocopson Creek on March 28.

The fish release was part of the fifth-grade science curriculum, said teacher Ryan Stevens. The idea was to help students learn about cold-water resources.

Teacher Ryan Stevens prepares the baby brook trout for release while waiting for the students to arrive.

“Healthy streams support the trout, while the fish keep the stream clean, he said. “If there are brook trout, it’s a healthy stream.”

The fish do their part as part of the eco-system by eating insect larvae, thereby keeping down the insect population, Stevens added.

Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission provided roughly 200 eggs to the school in November. Brook trout — Salvelinus fontinalis — are the state fish of the commonwealth.

They were kept in a tank at the school and the students continually monitored the water’s pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels. About 40 of the eggs never became fish, but the survivors grew to a large enough size, close to two inches, to be released into the stream along Brinton’s Bridge Road.

Water from the tank was siphoned into a bucket and the fingerlings were netted and put in the bucket for transport in water to which they were accustomed.

School Principal Andrew McLaughlin siphons water from the fish tank where the fingerlings developed.

Once at the creek, Stevens added some creek water before putting water and a few fish into small cups so student-teams could each release some baby trout.

The release was strictly a science project, not an attempt to stock the stream for fishing.

Top photo: Pocopson Elementary School teacher Ryan Stevens watches several of the students as they release trout into Pocopson Creek.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.