Monday, February 9, 2009

Tortilla Chips and Hotdogs for Bait!

The fish and turtles in Beczak’s indoor aquariums eat every other day. We feed them fish from the Hudson River. Mummichogs and Atlantic silversides are caught during our seining programs and stored in the office freezer. However, this week we ran out. Time to go fishing! Beczak educator Jason Muller ventured out into the snow last week to set fish traps in the marsh. He filled the traps with hotdogs and tortilla chips. “I thought the oil and salt would attract fish,” he explained. In just a few hours, about ten mummichogs nibbled on the chips and were trapped! We put them in a zip lock bag and placed that in the freezer. Today is feeding day. We will chop up almost all of our catch for our white perch, striped bass, and crayfish. The blue crabs, red-eared sliders and common slapping turtle will eat the thawed mummichogs whole. The hungry animals will have a great lunch!

Vicky Garufi
Education Program Manager