OutdoorMN News - Lifelong interest in fishing and conservation can start small

[Rick]

Fishing and curiosity have always gone hand in hand, and when it comes to cleaning fish, some anglers have memories of examining the stomach of a catch – perhaps finding minnows, crawfish or the occasional oddity on the cutting board. 

So when a group of Boy Scouts got a chance over the summer to analyze the stomach contents of fish – led by Ariel Johnson, MinnAqua program intern for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources – one might say the tradition continued with high interest.

MinnAqua is a state aquatic resources and fishing education program of the DNR. The program teaches people about fishing and aquatic habitats.

After the Boy Scouts event, Johnson answered some questions about what exactly the Scouts were learning.

Q: So, where did you get the fish for this lesson?
A: These fish were given to me by Duluth area fisheries staff for the sake of the MinnAqua program of the DNR. As an intern for the program, I was teaching the scouts how to analyze the fish – you might call it organized gutting – and how to pull scales and otoliths, or ear bones, which help us determine the age of fish. These brave Scouts were on a mission to meet requirements for their Fish and Wildlife Merit Badge.

Q: What is the importance of lessons like this?
A: Our lessons got at real-world topics including how to how to count fish populations in a lake, how to identify invasive species and learning about DNR jobs in conservation. Through the MinnAqua program the Scouts were able to address the majority of the requirements for the merit badge, requirements that focused on recognizing the role that they had in conservation and what some threats are to natural resources in Minnesota. The Scouts even had some time to fish.

Q: So were the guts just a great attention getter?
A: The purpose of fish guts, interesting as they are, weren’t only about keeping the attention of a group of Scouts. Much can be learned by examining fish in general. When I worked as an intern for the Lake Superior fisheries office, we examined lake trout for sea lamprey wounds, diet, fin clippings that can show if a fish was stocked by the DNR, and we pulled aging structures, which are scales and ear bones.

On those lake trout, we found very few wounds from sea lampreys, a good sign that efforts are successful to reduce sea lamprey populations. Another great sign was that not many fish caught had any fin clippings, meaning that the fish we had were naturally reoccurring and populations appeared to be more stable.

Perhaps the most interesting thing found during my fisheries internship was one of the larger lake trout had eaten a bird’s foot. It was hard to tell exactly how this happened with the evidence at hand. But it got us wondering: How long has a fish of this size been around? That’s where the scales and otoliths come in – aging structures provide more information about the year class and their survival.

Q: The idea that seemingly small experiences can lead to big things is also a theme in MinnAqua. How does learning about fish lead to anything beyond a fun day at camp?
A: Sparking an interest in fishing can perhaps lead to a lifelong hobby and, in the process, development of a sense of responsibility for protecting natural resources. So they get an awareness of the value of the natural resources that exist and what can be done to protect these resources.

Q: Do these kids give you any hope for the future, or should we just pack up and play virtual reality fishing instead?
A: Well, I believe in the real thing, that’s for sure. This MinnAqua internship has shown me that environmental education is definitely what I want to pursue as a career. I find hope for the future of conservation every time a child says, “This was my first time ever fishing in my life. I want to go fishing again!”

Learn more about MinnAqua at www.mndnr.gov/minnaqua.

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