Bay Delta Classroom Aquarium Education Program

Due to staffing changes Region 3 CAEP will not be accepting new teachers for the 25/26 school year. This decision was not made lightly, and we apologize for any potential new teachers who were looking forward to participating this year. 

Teachers who are interested in carrying out CAEP, but are unable to join this year are invited to sign up for the new teacher waitlist  

Region 3 CAEP New Teacher Waitlist

When space is available, waitlisted teachers will be contacted by their region’s sponsor to determine eligibility. If you have any questions regarding your status in participating in this year's programs, please contact your sponsor. See a list of sponsors on the Partners page. 

1. At the beginning of each season, please get in touch with your sponsor to ensure your participation is on their radar. 
2. You must apply each year by submitting a CAEP Application to Receive, Transport, and Rear Eggs and Fish (CDFW Form 772) 
   • Application deadlines and the link to apply can be found by scrolling to the "Important Dates" section of this page. 

Returning teachers are required to re-take the New Teacher Workshop and be re-certified before applying for eggs if: 

• You are entering the program from a different CDFW Region. Since CAEP varies regionally, teachers must retrain in Region 3 to be eligible for the program. 
• You've been out of the program for more than 3 years, and want to be eligible to apply for eggs this school year. 
• You've been notified by your CAEP Coordinator that you have been decertified for any reason.

See details regarding recertification requirements on the CAEP: Forms and Guidelines page. 

Great question!  Upon submission of your application, you will receive an email confirming that your application has been received.  

If there are any discrepancies with your application, our team will reach out to you and your coach. Please allow 1-3 weeks for application processing. Your coach will be provided with a list of all approved applications, so be sure to check with them regarding the status of your application.  

Please email r3caep@wildlife.ca.gov if you have any questions. 

Great question! You’ll receive an email confirmation after submitting your release summary. If our team has any questions, we will be sure to follow up. 

Almost all teachers in the Bay Area program have a sponsor who is active in supporting the classroom project. Check your CAEP Authorization Form (CDFW Form 772) from last year and you will find the name of your sponsor (the organization) and your coach (the individual). If you can’t find this, contact r3caep@wildlife.ca.gov and we will look it up for you. 

Teachers are always welcome to attend a training workshop as a refresher, however, this is not required. As long as you have hatched fish within the past 3 years and complied with all the terms of your permit (including returning it at the end of the season) you do not need to be retrained.  

If it has been more than three years since you last participated, or you were certified in a different region and are now looking to receive eggs in Region 3, you must take a teacher training workshop again before you can receive eggs

• Check the R3 CAEP webpage in September each year for new application deadlines and teacher training workshops links.  
• Once your application has been accepted, start planning your field trip if you intend to have one. Many cities and lakes may require additional forms for schools planning to bring students beyond what CDFW can provide, so check early to see what you may need!  
• Eggs are typically provided in February and April each year. Exact delivery dates will be provided to your sponsor once we hear from our hatchery staff. 
  • Rainbow Trout eggs are tentatively scheduled for delivery the week immediately following the Presidents Holiday in February. 
  • Steelhead eggs are typically offered twice a year – once in early February and once in April. 
• Set up your aquarium a minimum of two weeks before receiving your trout eggs. This gives your trout the best chance at survival.  
• Fish must be released no later than 8 weeks after delivery. That said, we recommend releasing after 4-5 weeks.
• Once you release your trout you have two weeks to submit your release summary. 
  • If your eggs/trout die before release, teachers must submit the release summary form within two weeks of the last trout dying.   

We are fortunate in the Bay Area to be able to provide steelhead and rainbow trout eggs to schools, depending on where the school is located. It is important to remember that all teachers in the Bay Area hatch trout – steelhead are anadromous and go the ocean while rainbow are the same fish but remain in lakes. 
 
Teachers in the Russian River watershed receive a strain of locally spawned steelhead that can be released into local streams (but NOT lakes). 
 
Teachers in most of the Bay Area, including Santa Cruz and Santa Clara, receive a common strain of rainbow trout that can be released into most (but not all) lakes. These fish CANNOT be released into local streams. 
 
All fish much be released in accordance with your CAEP Application to Receive, Transport and Rear Eggs and Fish (CDFW Form 772) – there are no exceptions.  

Great! All teachers who wish to participate must have their own certification in order to receive eggs as well as to transfer any fish. Certifications are not transferrable.  

Please email us at r3caep@wildlife.ca.gov and we’ll you through the next steps.