Chardstock children improving river biodiversity after raising sea trout eggs

If you have been transfixed watching David Attenborough's 'Wild Isles' on the BBC, you know how urgent it is to take action to support wildlife here in the UK.

In this regard, the children of St Andrew's Academy School in Chardstock have certainly been stepping up to the plate. 

Ask them about sea trout in local rivers and they will tell you tales of fish eggs and avelin, the importance of clean river water, and their awe at the journeys undertaken by the trout as the fish venture out to sea.

For the past few weeks, the children have been keeping a caring eye on 200 or so sea trout eggs as part of the Fish Eggs in the Classroom Programme, run by the Axe Vale Rivers Association.

The Kit Brook runs through the heart of Chardstock, and is a national spawning river for the increasingly rare sea trout. 

It is therefore an ideal home for an inspiring scheme to restock local rivers with sea trout, and along the way get the children involved.

Eddie de Vere Hunt, chair of the Axe Vale Rivers Association (AVRA), said: "We remove fish eggs from mature sea trout, which we take humanely from the River Axe in the Autumn under a licencing scheme. 

"The parent fish are returned unharmed to the river, and about 40,000 eggs are fertilised, reared and eventually released. 

"The purpose of the hatchery is to give a boost to natural spawning numbers, helping ensure their future survival during these difficult times of poor water quality."

A small percentage of the fertilised eggs go to a handful of primary schools in the local area, including Chardstock.

On a shelf at the back of the classroom, a small aquarium filled with sea trout eggs has enabled the children to watch the fish grow.

They were shown how to keep the fish in good health by checking the temperature of the water and making sure no one had accidentally turned off the oxygenator.

Paul Spearing, from Chardstock Eco Group, has been assisting AVRA by popping in daily to check all is well with the fish eggs. 

He said: "The kids have been so interested and involved. Every time I'm in the classroom someone will come over to give me a hand checking the fish are in good health, asking questions and showing off their knowledge."

The children explain that the fish eggs do not hatch like a bird's egg, but slowly evolve into something more fish-like. 

The egg sack develops as a sort of lunch pack in the fish's tummy from which they continue to feed. At this stage they are called avelin, and mostly keep hidden in the gravel at the bottom of the tank, but as they use up their egg sack food supply they start to swim around - and that means it's time to release them into the river in search of food.

On a spring-like morning, the children - accompanied by teachers and led by Eddie and Paul - walked down to the Kit Brook where Eddie explained the importance of clean river water to the survival of the young fish. 

"Too much soil sediment in the river water and the fish will struggle to breathe," he explained. 

"Too much nutrient in the water encourages excessive algal growth which strips oxygen out of the water adding to the problems for the fish."

Each child received a tiny fish in a jam jar, which they carefully released into the brook. 

Those fish that survive will hang about in the Kit Brook for a couple of years, before voyaging out to sea and returning to breed naturally in the river.

Eddie said: "Working with schoolchildren is of vital importance. These kids are the David Attenboroughs of the future."