On 17 Oct. students from the Early College Experience Marine Science class embarked on a fishing trip to Long Island as part of the University of Connecticut’s Project Oceanology.
This is part of a series of field trips conducted by the class, that involves surveying the environmental status of the Groton area and Long Island sound. Four are held each year.
The target fish in particular is known as the bluefish. “They are pretty common in the deeper parts of the sound,” marine science teacher David Bednarz said. “This species is known to be aggressive and they have a sharp set of teeth, but they do make for good cooking.”
Unfortunately, due to rocky waves throughout the day, the plans for bluefishing were cancelled. “Despite this, the Sound has plentiful amount of porgy and black sea bass,” Bednarz said, “so that was our alternative.”
For the next several hours, the class spent much of the time learning how to fish, which involved the attachment of the bait, basic control of the fishing rod, and when to pull out the fish. “There was some competition to bring up the most fish,” senior Kevin Konrad said. “It makes things on the boat quite exciting. It feels good to get a catch.”
“Overall, it was more than the fishing that made it fun,” junior Amanda Carlin said. “The environment on the boat made the experience much more memorable. I also had fun interacting with the catch itself.”
At the end of the day, the class caught a whopping 111 fish total, most of which were released due to size, but also yielded many keepers, which were filleted and given out.
“The filleting was definitely a new and weird experience,” senior Gretchen Montgomery described. “The skin was tough, and the job was tedious. It took time to slice it perfectly.”
“I learned how to fish with my host family,” junior exchange student Jonathan Lei said. “Trips like these are a memorable, and I will remember how much we have caught.”
Kenneth Tran, Staff Writer
Senior Kenneth Tran is a staff writer for the 2014-2015 Colonel. He is co-leader of the Amnesty International club and participates in the National Ocean Science Bowl.
THE COLONEL NEWSMAGAZINE 