Mackay anglers could one day reel in a catch raised in a Mackay North State High School classroom, after students released 13 barramundi into the Gooseponds.
The fish tripled in length in six months under the care of two Year 10 Agriculture classes, growing from about 100mm to 300mm.
Mackay Area Fish Stocking Association hatchery coordinator Brandon Ford said their growth was comparable to rates achieved on commercial fish farms.
“We're releasing fish so these kids and their kids will have fish in the future to go fishing for," he said.
The partnership between North High and MAFSA began when Aquatics, Science and Agriculture teacher Josh Grant approached the association about stocking the school's recirculating aquaculture system.
Mr Ford sourced fish from a local barra farm, with the association helping the school fine-tune growing conditions.
Keeping the fish healthy has become part of the students' regular work, with Agricultural Science teacher Kelly Dunne saying they clean filters, check pumps and monitor water levels.
“They are the first ones to notice if there is anything amiss," she said.
For student Julian, feeding time offered a measure of how much the fish had changed.
“They've definitely gotten bigger and a lot feistier," he said, adding that he had been fascinated to learn during the unit that barramundi could change their sex.
“They actually don't turn into a female until they hit a certain size or a certain age," he said.
The change generally happens when barramundi reach about 85–100cm long. While they can live in freshwater, they need saltwater to breed.
Mr Ford and his daughter Evelyn helped students tag their barra for release into the Mackay Gooseponds, using drops of clove oil in a transfer tank to keep the fish calm.
The Suntag tags will help track their growth and movements, with Mr Ford saying the barra could eventually reach saltwater through connected waterways, particularly during floods.
The school's efforts support MAFSA's volunteers, who raise thousands of barramundi and sooty grunter for local waterways, including Kinchant, Teemburra and Eungella dams.
Mr Ford said one barramundi released at Platypus Beach in Mirani was recorded in the Fitzroy River seven years later, by which time it had grown to about 1.2m.
Anglers who report a tagged catch to Suntag can receive a certificate showing when and where the fish was tagged, how much it has grown and how far it has travelled.