Ontario Fish Identification Workshops

If you are a fisheries biologist or a student registered in a fisheries biology program, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Department of Natural History, provides an opportunity to improve your fish identification skills.

Two women examine a fish at an identification workshop.

These workshops are designed primarily for professionals, technicians, field biologists, and environmental consultants, but other interested individuals - including university and college students - are welcome.

Workshops will be offered in April and May 2025, at the University of Guelph Science Complex (unless otherwise noted).

A variety of courses are being offered this year:

Three-day introductory workshop that will cover the broad array of Ontario fish families and provide an opportunity to develop specialized knowledge of a group of interest
Four-day introductory workshop that will cover the same information as the three-day introductory workshop but has an additional day in the field (Marden Lake/Eramosa River) with Jason Barnucz and Robin Gaspardy from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and ROM staff. A presentation on preservation, documentation, photographing and sampling tissues for genetic studies will also be given in the field.
Two-day workshop on fish species-at-risk in Ontario
Two-day workshop on Great Lakes invasive fish species
Three-day workshop on Ontario carps and minnows, including the families: Cyprinidae, Leuciscidae, Tincidae, and Xenocyprididae.

Full details will be supplied to registered participants 30 days in advance of each workshop.