One of the great benefits of being governor of Massachusetts means you have the option of participating in the annual stocking of Jamaica Pond -- and Governor Maura Healey didn't miss her first opportunity to do so.
Adnan Mursal and Harun Yasin launch a bucket of hatchery trout into Jamaica Pond as JFK School classmate Marie Bangura looks on. The trio of 12-year-olds from Dorchester was part of a bucket brigade on April 27, 2023. (Photo by Jon Seamans for Boston Parks and Recreation)
Healey was joined Boston Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ryan Woods, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, students from John F. Kennedy Elementary and Curley K-8 schools, and MassWildlife staff on April 27.
According to Boston Parks and Recreation, more than 1,000 trout were released into Jamaica Pond -- approximately 800 rainbow trout averaging 14 inches long, 25 brook trout and 65 brown trout averaging 18 inches long, and 170 tiger trout, a cross between a female brown trout and a male brook trout, averaging 14 inches long. The fish for the stocking event were raised at state hatcheries.
Boston Parks Commissioner Ryan Woods and Governor Maura Healey team up to help stock Jamaica Pond on April 27, 2023. (Photo by Jon Seamans for Boston Parks and Recreation)
Solace Maxwell, 13, of Jamaica Plain and Avelis Vasquez, 12, of Roxbury place a bucket of hatchery-raised rainbow trout in Jamaica Pond during the April 27, 2023 fish stocking. (Photo by Jon Seamans for Boston Parks and Recreation)
Massachusetts Assistant Director of Fisheries Todd Richards shows students from the JFK Elementary School a beauty of a brown trout on April 27, 2023. (Photo by Jon Seamans for Boston Parks and Recreation)