Catfish in the Classroom program looks promising
For the past five years, the Harry Enstrom Chapter of the Izaac Walton League of America has been talking about introducing a new program in Greene County classrooms.
The program, Catfish in the Classroom, is based on Trout in the Classroom, which is already active in some county school districts like Carmichaels, Southeastern Greene and West Greene.
The Catfish in the Classroom project took another step toward becoming a reality on March 22 when advocates and proponents met at the Marine Biology Laboratory at Waynesburg University.
In attendance were Josh Keslar and Brian McHail, cooperative nursery unit leaders for the Fish and Boat Commission; Donald K. Anderson, Board Commissioner from the 4th district; Eric Davis, waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission assigned to Washington and Greene Counties; Wayne Rossiter, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at Waynesburg University; Ken Dufalla president of the Harry Enstrom Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America and biology students from Waynesburg University.
‘We looked over the facility [the Marine Biology Lab] as a possible satellite facility and co-op of the Fish and Boat Commission,” Dufalla said. “If approved the lab would be considered a nursery and raise the fry in large round plastic washtubs, then distribute the fish in September to the schools who want to participate.”
The water at the Marine Biology Lab would be chemical free and cleaned by reverse osmosis. The fish would be fed pellets of krill until they grow large enough to transport in plastic bags to the schools. The school districts that have expressed an interest in the program are West Greene, Southeastern Greene and Carmichaels. In Washington County, Bethlehem-Center School District also expressed interest. According to Dufalla, teachers in those districts think they can alter their Trout in the Classroom program to accommodate the catfish.
“If the Fish and Boat Commission approves of the plan, we’re asking for between 200 and 400 catfish fry but will probably get around 200,” Dufalla said.
At the schools, the students would watch them grow and care for them by cleaning the tanks, filtering the water and regulating the temperature. The local chapter of the Izaak Walton League has already donated $500 for fish feed pellets for Bethlehem-Center and $1,000 for the university. Other organizations have donated $5,000 to cover the food for the participating schools in Greene County.
“We’re prepared to cover all five school districts in the county if they decide to participate,” Dufalla said.
Once the catfish grow between two and four inches, they will be transported to the upper tributaries where food is plentiful and released to avoid the heavy predation usually experienced further downstream.
If the program is a success, some of the organizers would like to implement a plan to reintroduce blue catfish, once native in local waters but killed off due to mine water pollution and mill spills. The blue catfish can attain a weight of 160 pounds and is considered an apex predator.
“We’re hoping the catfish in the schools program takes off and that the fish can be delivered to the school districts in September,” Dufalla said. “It would be a good learning experience for the kids, it would increase the local catfish population and maybe, in the future, reintroduce a species that has been absent from local waters for quite a while.”