Naselle students tour Autofish System at hatchery

Submitted by Clarissa Colson,

WSU 4-H Liaison

As part of our exploration of high-tech careers,

students from the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District got to tour the Autofish System at the Naselle Salmon Hatchery on April 19. In collaboration with WSU 4-H Liaison, Clarissa Colson, Naselle-Grays River Valley students got a unique opportunity to see the inner workings of the latest high-tech system. The Department of Fish and Wildlife uses the Autofish System to clip fins and tag parr salmon to get them ready for release.

The director of the Willapa Bay Hatcheries, John Larson, and the foreman of the Naselle Hatchery, Brady Foreman, hosted a whirlwind of 127 students from the school. Fourth grade through high school had the chance to see both the automated trailer and the manual clipping trailer–comparing the two methods.

Trailer Operator Nate Smith, demonstrated how the fish move through the different stages and are returned to the pond. Students related the robotics in the Autofish System to the robotics projects they have been doing in their classrooms with the WSU 4-H Classroom Robotics program. Getting to see real life applications of the components and skills they are learning was very inspiring.

Wahkiakum 4-H, Clarissa Colson, and the school would like to extend a special thanks to Assistant Lead Clipper, Larissa Glenn, for answering questions and allowing students to watch her work.

This work is funded by Career Connect Washington.