The Classroom Aquarium Education Program (CAEP) will improve teacher and student understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of fish populations and their ecosystems, while creating an awareness of the needs of the aquatic environment through the use of classroom aquaria.
CDFW, along with community partners, works to enhance classroom educational experiences through the hatching and raising of salmon, steelhead, and rainbow trout from the egg to the fry stage.
This program is not intended to supplement existing stocking programs, raise exotic fish species, raise fish for personal use, or raise fish for sale.
"Fish in the Classroom” programs originated in British Columbia in the late 1970’s. As a part of the new “environmental movement,” classes hatched and released Salmon as an educational endeavor. The success of the program allowed it to “migrate” south through Washington, Oregon and into California by the 1990s. Today, “Fish in the Classroom” programs exist across the country.
The California program enjoyed explosive growth in the early days and has grown steadily since then, spawned by the energy and enthusiasm of community partners, most of them fly-fishing clubs. The methods and technology have changed over the years but the basic premise of the program remains the same: students study local aquatic habitats and the life history of the chosen salmonid, operate a chilled aquarium in their classroom, and receive eyed-eggs from CDFW hatcheries to raise to the fry stage. The fish are released into appropriate bodies of water within weeks.
The program is regulated through CDFW to ensure fish are only released into appropriate bodies of water to reduce spread of disease or mixing of genetic strains. The species of fish raised in CAEP varies around the state, as does the name of the program on a local level. Statewide, all programs operate under the umbrella name of “Classroom Aquarium Education Program” or CAEP. Locally the programs go by a variety of names including “Trout in the Classroom”, "Salmon and Steelhead Education Program (STEP)”, “Salmonids in the Classroom” and others. The type of fish used in classrooms depends on the species available from nearby CDFW hatcheries and the allowed fish that can be released into certified waterbodies.