Here Fishy Fishy...

Hello - I’m Carolyn Veres - I’m with troop 164 and I’m part of the Orange Park service unit. I went to North Fork on the 11^th of August to help out with the pond that is in the beginning of camp right at the entrance. What they wanted us to do is get all - well most - of the fish out of the pond so they can make it bigger.

The way we had to get them I thought would hurt the fish, but the Wildlife Conservation group said that 95% of the fish would be safe from the electrical shock. Now I’m not that smart on fish stuff, but I thought they would die!

After they said it won’t hurt them, we all got into groups of two so one of us would work the pedal that would shock the fish and one it catch them with a net and them put the fish in a bucket that was right behind them.

It was fun but very slow waiting for the fish to come up to the surface, but we got them.

We keep that up for about 4 hours - man was that hot and tiring - but after we got most of the fish out of the pond and measured, weighed and recorded them.

We were able to take them to Camp Chowenwaw Park where they will live for a little bit until the new pond is ready for them.

It was a fun thing to do! I felt very happy that I got to help out with the construction of the camp. I can’t wait for the camp to be all the way done!

Types of Fish in the Pond

This is a Grass Carp. The grass carp is actually one of the largest members of the minnow family. The back of the grass carp is silvery to dark grey, and the sides of the body are lighter with a slightly golden sheen. The belly is silvery white. Fins are generally greenish-grey. The fish has relatively large scales. Teeth have been replaced by specialized structures called pharyngeal teeth located in the back of the throat. These are used for tearing and grinding plant matter.

This is a Bream. (Abramis brama), common European food and game fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae, found in lakes and slow rivers. The bream lives in schools and eats worms, mollusks, and other small animals. It is deep bodied, with flat sides and a small head, and is silvery with a bluish or brown back.

These are some of the many species that have to be either released or relocated to the new pond. We need to move them during the expansion of the pond. This task will need great effort and it will be expensive. They're doing all they can to save the marine animals though! - Samantha S.

Report From the OAC Meeting

Hey, this is Samantha S. -

This is the building where I met the North Fork contractors at my first OAC meeting! OAC stands for Owners / Architect / Contractor.

From the looks of the plans, North Fork should be ready faster than you think, and that's a good thing! Soon enough there will be a pool, a fishing village, an arts village, health center, and more. They're planning on expanding one of the ponds - and in order to do that they need to relocate the fish!

Definitely more to come next week! - Samantha S.