Fish Friends during 2020-21

Given continued COVID-19 realities, Fish Friends will look a little different this year. We can still provide eggs for schools to raise but our in-person support will be limited. We are currently exploring a virtual alternative for those unable to raise fish in-person, so stay tuned about that. If you are interested in some form of Fish Friends during the 2020-21 school year, please fill out this brief survey to indicate your interest. If you are fairly sure that you want to raise salmon eggs this year, please sign up for a permit by 11/15/20 here.

Have further questions or missed that deadline? Reach out to the Fish Friends Coordinator.

ASF’s “Magic on the Rivers” Guide Now Available!

Hot off the presses: ASF’s “Magic on the Rivers” guide was published in July 2019 and is a great resource for Fish Friends schools and allies!

“The purpose is to assist those teaching young adults the pleasures of salmon and trout angling. It does so in light of the need for these 21st century anglers to practice conservation ethics that match the needs of the rivers and the fish.” 

While the entire 126-page resource is full of educational gems, Fish Friends participants may find Modules 3, 5, and 6 most applicable.

You can download the whole thing by visiting our Participant Resources page. Let us know how you use it!

Testimonials from 2019 Fish Friends Participants

This is our 26th year doing the Fish Friends project. We are so thankful to those of you that keep this program going! It is the highlight of our students’ Academy Hill School experience!

Academy Hill School teacher

Fish Friends provided my class with a valuable learning experience. My students were interested and involved all the way through the process. We had amazing support and teaching from our mentor.

Cornville Regional Charter School teacher

I’ve been doing this program for years. It is important for students to learn about our natural world, understand, and take care of it, for the benefit of the animals and survival of the planet. Every creature matters and it our responsibility to be good stewards.

Great Salt Bay School teacher

I can talk all day about how salmon develop and the challenges that they face here in Maine, but feel like I don’t really get through to students. However, once we had the eggs in our classroom, students really started to put the ideas together and truly understand what was happening. Thank you for the opportunity to share this with my students!!

Hampden Academy teacher

Our school has participated in this program for over 20 years. The students still get just as excited watching the salmon grow and participating in their release.

Indian Island School teacher

Raising salmon is high interest – anything I connect to the salmon gets 100 percent of the kids’ attention. This is a very valuable program.

Margaret Chase Smith School teacher

Fish Friends helped learning become fun, engaging and exciting again!

Sacopee Valley Middle School teacher

Our students loved watching the salmon hatch and taking care of them. It was really powerful to bring them to the river and release them. The students felt empowered to make the world a better place.

Saint George School teacher

Fish Friends and the salmon hatchery provide an awesome educational experience for students (and educators), who are in need of repeated exposure to the natural world during an impressionable period in their lives. This is likely their first chance to see the beating heart of a vertebrate embryo!

Yarmouth Elementary School teacher