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. Come join us for an introductory training! 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 of rainbow smelt at various monitoring sites around Great Bay.

Schedule flexibility is key to participating. Monitoring occurs weekly from March through April during midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and is tide-dependent. Please sign up to reserve a spot and learn more about these fishy opportunities!