It’s hard to say who is benefiting more from the new fish hatchery program at Neah Bay High School.
There are the hundreds of coho salmon eggs being carefully nurtured through the early stages of their lives by dedicated high school students, in hopes of having a chance of survival in the ocean.
At the same time, students are learning from these tiny orange organisms, such as how to care for them using their individual strengths and skills.
All of which is exactly what Neah Bay science teacher Holly Keedy and principal Lucy Dafoe want—to see both students and salmon thrive.
Neah Bay High School students are in their first year of operating their own fish hatchery, recently constructed with some creative infrastructure. A small vanilla-colored shipping container was converted into a hatchery by ReddZone, a company that manufactures mobile hatcheries. Eggs were donated by Makah Fisheries’ Hoko Falls Hatchery from coho salmon that were spawned in January. The water supply for the hatchery is the runoff from the school’s shop building, flowing into a 3,000-gallon water tank through a UV filter and then piped into the hatchery.

While the primary goal is to learn about the salmon life cycle, there have been far greater benefits than the hands-on learning experience.
Keedy divided her high school biology class students into three teams that are taking full responsibility for these coho salmon eggs. Professionals provide guidance, including the tribe’s Hoko Falls Hatchery manager, Joe Hinton, and staff from the nearby Makah National Fish Hatchery.
The facilities crew regularly makes sure the water temperatures are correct and the water is flowing and clean. The media team documents each step of these eggs’ lives through photos and videos to be shared, rallying support for the program from students and staff. The tour team gives well-informed tours about the program to anyone who will listen. Each student chose the team they wanted, to help them play into their strengths as individuals, Keedy said.
“This project has helped students gain confidence in themselves and understand how much of a difference their actions make,” Keedy said. “Students have been asking to take on responsibilities and are excited to participate in the activities. Their enthusiasm has transferred beyond the hatchery project and into the classroom. I have noticed with this increased confidence, they are more willing to try new things and be optimistic about their success.”
Keedy and Dafoe also want the hatchery program to be integrated across all parts of the school curriculum—how salmon and treaty rights are intertwined (social studies), writing essays about the salmon life cycle (English), collecting data from the hatchery to make sure it’s operating correctly (science), and photographing and documenting the process to share with others (media).

The value in having an onsite lab is that the students can take ownership of their work while gaining experiences in a classroom setting, then apply those skills in the real world when the opportunity arises, Dafoe said.
“I’m really excited because we never get to do these things,” said Mariella Wakole, a junior at Neah Bay High School. “This is really fun because a lot more students are involved and actually wanting to learn a lot more because a lot of them get really rowdy. And now a lot of them are turning a new leaf and coming up here and doing something. They can actually see it, learn it, hear it and everything. It’s awesome.”
Aside from learning how salmon are important to the Makah Tribe and Neah Bay community, Keedy is hoping the work will inspire students to pursue career ideas based on their skills they are exploring while working in the hatchery.
Wakole has already started that process, as this program has changed her mind about her future.
“I’m thinking of going into marine biology,” she said. “I wanted to go into carpentry, but this seems a lot more interesting.”
Students sort pick out dead salmon eggs in the school’s hatchery. Story and photos: Tiffany Royal