Students won’t forget hatchery outing

GUTTENBERG - Students might not always remember everything they learned in the classroom, “but they won't forget the time they milked a northern pike,” said Dan Anderson, whose MFL MarMac natural resources science students did just that Thursday morning at the Department of Natural Resources hatchery here.

Asked her impression of the experience, senior Megan Johnson said, “It was really slimy.”

Besides expressing eggs from the female northerns, the students squeezed sperm from male fish and mixed the two with a saline solution for deposit in glass incubators. They also threw the switch on an electric apparatus that stunned the northerns into docility and participated in weighing and measuring some of the northerns netted from the Mississippi River.

Hatchery manager and fisheries biologist Scott Gritters explained how DNR personnel capture the pike in nets and collect the ingredients that will yield millions of fry for stocking in Iowa's rivers and streams.

Biologist Mike Steuck explained how the fish are carefully weighed, measured and tagged as part of research that will illuminate how northerns thrive in the Mississippi River.

“Fish-wise, they are the top predator in the river. They're the ones with the big teeth,” Steuck said.

They are an underutilized resource that deserve more attention from anglers, he said.

Anderson, who started the natural resources class five years ago, said it is one of the most popular electives for juniors and seniors at the Monona high school.

Backed strongly by school administrators, the class involves the students in hands-on outdoor activities and includes a wide range of field trips like Thursday's hatchery outing.

“We're introducing a lot of kids to outdoor activities. They're having fun and gaining an appreciation and respect for the natural environment,” Anderson said.

Last year's class won a statewide video production contest sponsored by the DNR in recognition of the 20th anniversary of its Fish Iowa! education program.

“We talked about fish biology and habitat in class, but the kids did all the writing, shooting and editing,” Anderson said. Their video was judged best based on professionalism, creativity and accuracy of information presented.

“If we had more teachers like Dan, we would be raising Iowans with a strong environmental ethic,” Gritters said.