Registration for the 2023-24 fish egg permit has not yet opened. Please check back in the fall of 2023.
Are you unsure what equipment you need to participate in Fish Friends? Please reference our suggested equipment list.
Equipment Setup and Tank Maintenance Information (includes a link to a video)
A limited number of these life cycle poster sets are available to Fish Friends participants.
Suggested donations of $5-20 will be reinvested in the Fish Friends program.
Curricula:
- NOAA/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Salmon Lesson Plans designed for grades 5-8
Visuals and Info Sheets:
- ASF’s “Wild Atlantic Salmon: A Natural Wonder,” nice visuals and text
- NASCO’s (North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization) brief overview of the salmon life cycle with a helpful visual
Videos, Audio, and Games:
- Fish Friends YouTube Channel: see Atlantic salmon at their various stages throughout the Fish Friends program
- Watch rare footage of wild Atlantic salmon documented in Maine in 2020 and learn about Atlantic Salmon Federation’s Maine Headwaters Project successes in this 7-minute video.
- Maine Audubon’s Fish Friends site, including a series of “Salmon Shorts” videos
- Downeast Salmon Federation’s 6-minute video about Atlantic salmon and their unique hatchery method. Also, check out DSF’s YouTube Channel.
- “To the Journey’s End: The Life Cycle of the Atlantic Salmon,” a 30-minute video about the life cycle and struggles of Atlantic salmon, produced in Scotland
- Atlantic Salmon Life Cycle 3-minute video, created by Washington Academy students in East Machias, ME in 2019
- Salmon Rivers of Downeast Maine 7-minute video, all about the threats to salmon in this region, created by Washington Academy students in East Machias, ME in 2019
- Threats to Atlantic Salmon 6-minute video, created by Washington Academy students in East Machias, ME in 2019
- Swim for your Life Game, recommended by a Fish Friends teacher. “The game traces the natural history of the anadromous fish. In the game, they begin their lives as developing fish embryos contained within the egg, then larval fish living and feeding in marshland nurseries. Later they move into the river and estuary to begin their journey to the ocean….”
- Why should we care about endangered species? A short video all about it.
- The Saving Salmon Podcast: Maine is home to the last runs of wild Atlantic salmon in the United States. Join hosts Charlie Schmidt and Caroline Losneck as they travel the state, talking with Mainers about the history, decline, and recovery of the ‘King of Fish’ through 3 short (~20min) episodes. Episode 1 features your very own Fish Friends Coordinator!
Books:
fishfriendsme.wordpress.com 