Students start salmon hatchery

A small salmon hatchery is Geraldine High School's latest project.

As part of a programme sponsored by Central South Island Fish and Game, with funding from Fonterra, students have set up a salmon hatchery in a glass tank at the back of one of the new science labs.

Geraldine's non-chlorinated water allowed the rearing of fish in a tank, as long as there was sufficient flow for oxygen replenishment, teacher Peter McCaskill said.

Several students were monitoring the life cycle of the salmon, and will be involved in recording water temperature and feeding the fry.

Three weeks ago, about 300 salmon eggs from the Rangitata hatchery at McKinnons Stream were introduced to the glass tank and have been hatching over the past week. More than 100 alevins have hatched but will not need to be fed for another couple of weeks because they depend on their yolk sac for food, Mr McCaskill said.

Once they have reached the next stage in their life cycle (fry), an automatic feeder will be attached to the tank.

"We hope to raise the salmon to parr stage about 40 millimetres in length then release these into the Waihi River."

- © Fairfax NZ News