Every spring, rainbow smelt spawn in the rivers and estuaries surrounding Great Bay. Unfortunately, migratory populations of rainbow smelt have declined in recent decades. With the help of citizen scientists, this research will help future managers better protect and enhance rainbow smelt populations and revive a threatened ice fishery. This is a great experience for anyone who is itching to get out and learn something new!

During the training, we will have a brief presentation on the importance of rainbow smelt, and go over protocols and methods volunteers will use in the field! Once trained, volunteers will have the opportunity to sign up for an active role assisting in counting, measuring, scale collection, and data recording at various monitoring sites, including the Oyster, Squamscott, and Winnicut Rivers. Schedule flexibility is key in participating. Monitoring occurs weekly from March to April during midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and is tide-dependent.

Join us for an introductory training on Wednesday, March 5 at 1:30pm at the NH Sea Grant office in Durham, NH.

Space is limited. Please sign up to reserve a spot and learn more about these fishy opportunities!

Click here for details on getting to the New England Center