Kids catch a fun day at fish hatchery spring fair

The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery celebrated its annual spring fair Saturday with sounds of nautical music filling the air and plenty of brook, brown and rainbow trout to be fed or caught.

"I'm just a grandpa with my grandkid here. I brought him over to see all the fish. I used to come here with my kids, so now I'm bringing my grandson. It's a beautiful day," said Bob Longo, 62, of Glen Cove. His grandson Connor, 3, was excited to observe the turtles sunning themselves on cedar logs in the pond.

The fish hatchery is open year round, but it hosts annual fairs in the spring and fall. At Saturday's fair, organizations offered the public a chance to learn how to protect natural resources.

Organizations included the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum; the Waterfront Center, a marine recreation and education group; the Long Island Greenbelt Trail; Running With the Wolves, a wolf advocacy group; The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research; and the Nassau County Soil & Water Conversation District, according to Diane Lundegaard, educator at the fish hatchery.

"The spring fair is a wonderful way for families to come here and spend a day together," she said.

Michelle Lomler, 41, of Huntington, brought her three kids, Nicolas, 8, Riley, 6 and Luke, 15 months. "We actually didn't even know the fair was going on. We just came because the little guy likes to look at the fish and the reptiles," she said.

The fair included nautical music by the Sumpwamps Creek Band, children's games, make your own pixie sticks, sand art and food. Children also had the opportunity to feed or catch some of the trout that the hatchery raises.

"These are fish that we grow here all year round; it's something special. This is one of the few opportunities where the children have the option to throw the fish back if they would like or they can take the fish home with them, presumably to be eaten," said Steve Desimone, assistant director at the hatchery.

Fishing was $2 for a 10-minute session but no guaranteed catch.

The hatchery features two indoor aquariums, a turtle pond, trout ponds, a warm-water pond that includes various species of fish, and the tidal creek observation platform with a view of a and dam.

The hatchery started more than 125 years ago, but it has become a nature and environmental education center, Lundegaard said.