Isla Gagnon helps a child free a rainbow trout into the waters of Onota Lake. The event on Wednesday was part of MassWildlife's annual trout restocking of the state's waters.
Jennifer Brazee's 5-year-old son tries to catch the fish in the bucket.
All ages participated in the restocking event.
Some fish needed a moment to acclimate themselves to their new environment.
Leanna Fontaine, left, an aquatic biologist at MassWildlife, says the event not only provides opportunities to learn about local wildlife but also environmental careers.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fish and buckets flew into Onota Lake on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to MassWildlife's annual spring trout stocking event.
This is one of the district's most popular stocking events of the year, with more than 200 people enthusiastically releasing about 550 rainbow trout ranging in size from about 9 to 18-plus inches.
A majority of the trout were 14 inches, Leanna Fontaine, an aquatic biologist for Masswildlife's Western District, said.
The fish, hailing from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's McLaughlin Hatchery in Belchertown, will provide angling opportunities for community members, Fontaine said.
The trout are grade-eating so fishers can decide whether to catch and release or take the trout home and grill them up.
The children were excitedly jumping and clapping while they observed the wiggling fish that they would soon release into the water.
Some ran back up the sandy beach to get another chance to release more trout, while others stayed in the water with Fontaine attempting to catch and hold the fish.
Some expressed concern when the fish they released lay still for a moment, but Fontaine reassured them that the trout were OK and just adjusting to its new environment. Shortly after, the fish began to wiggle its fins and quickly swam away.
These events occur throughout the state to provide an additional source of fish species for people to go fishing.
MassWildlife stocks trout twice a year: in the spring from mid- to late March through Memorial Day and for two weeks in the fall at the end of September and early October.
In the spring, the district stocks between 80,000 to 95,000 trout, and in the fall, about 10,000 to 12,000 trout in the 72 waterbodies within the region.
This event also gives people the opportunity to interact with and learn about trout in a way they haven't been able to before.
Multiple attendees noted they had never participated in the trout stocking event but commented that it was fun and excited their kids.
Event participant Soleil Hanger said the event allowed her kids to see how the lakes get restocked and to see a rainbow trout for the first time in person.
"I feel like they're gonna want to come out here and fish more," she said.
Jennifer Brazee's 5-year-old son had so much fun that he didn't want to leave the lake, she said.
Brazee has also never participated in an event like this but said it was "the best thing" and intends on attending more trout stocking events in the future.
Her son loves the earth and nature and doesn't like it when people throw garbage around.
"He'll go around making sure there's no garbage in the water and everything and will clean it all out," she said.
Events like this provide community members the opportunity to interact with the wildlife they are trying to protect, Fontaine's daughter Isla Gagnon said.
During the event, Gagnon assisted community members in releasing trout into the lake. Over the years, she has been exposed to fish and other animals because she has participated in a lot of her mother's work.
People are unknowingly helping the environment while having fun which can lead to a domino effect in protecting it, she said.
"So if more people can get used to this, then we have more people when they see a stranded fish on the beach, instead of just leaving it, trying to kick it in, or having someone else do it instead, they'll just go and pick it up and bring it into the water," Gagnon said.
Careers in the natural resources field are not well known because the people doing the work are not doing it for profit, but because they care about the environment, Fontaine said.
"It's important to be able to come out to talk to people about the things that we do and to see that it is an option for anybody and it doesn't matter creed, race, age and mobility, any of that," she said.
The stocking event gives people the opportunity to understand what MassWildlife does as an agency, see the type of jobs they do, and how it impacts where they live, Fontaine said.
"Being able to put fish in Onota Lake is really good for them to know where those fish are coming from, and to feel involved, and knowing that that is also a job possibility that they may not have known before. So it kind of gives them that inspiration," she said.
There is a minimal impact on the lake's ecosystem because the trout are not populating and typically will only live throughout the season, with only a few holding over in the winter since it's not their typical environment, Fontaine said. In fact, the inclusion of trout helps take pressure off of other certain species.
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