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<br />Record-size Colorado squawfish found in Utah
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<br />By Connie Yaung
<br />Public Information Specialist
<br />Colorado Division 01 Wiidiife
<br />MOAB, Utah - Two very large
<br />Colorado squaw fish - one a record-
<br />breaker nearly 38 inches long - were
<br />captured this spring by Utah and
<br />Colorado biologists,
<br />Utah Division of Wildlife
<br />Resources biologists captured the
<br />37,8-inch squaw fish in the Colorado
<br />River about 25 miles upstream of
<br />Mcab, Utah,
<br />Though Colorado squawfish once
<br />grew to nearly 6 feet long, this is the
<br />largest Colorado squawfish on record
<br />since research began more than IO
<br />years ago,
<br />Colorado Division of Wildlife biol-
<br />ogists caught a l6-pound, 35,6-inch
<br />squaw fish on the ,_,
<br />Colorado River
<br />near the Utah bor-
<br />der. This is the
<br />largest squawfish
<br />ever captured by
<br />Colorado biolo-
<br />gists, said Bill
<br />Elmblad, .of the
<br />Division office in
<br />Grand Junction,
<br />They usually find adult squawfish that
<br />are about 18 to 24 inches long,
<br />To capture the fish, researchers
<br />used "electro-fishing" gear, which
<br />temporarily stuns the fish and brings
<br />them to the water's surface, After
<br />weighing and measuring the fish,
<br />researchers release them unhanned,
<br />The biologists' work is part .of
<br />annual surveys to estimate population
<br />sizes of endangered fish in the upper
<br />Colorado River Basin, Collecting data
<br />over several years will allow
<br />researchers to gauge success of recov-
<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Elmblad
<br />
<br />
<br />Photo by Tom Chart
<br />Utah Dlvlslan of Wildlife Resaurces blalaglst Melissa Trammell and tempa-
<br />rary employee Brian Behle hald a recard.slze squawflsh caught In the
<br />Colorada River near Moab, Utah,
<br />
<br />ery efforts,
<br />Researchcrs do not know why they
<br />have found these large fish this year,
<br />But they think this year's river flows,
<br />which are higher than low flows of the
<br />past two years, somehow make it easi-
<br />er to locate the fish, And although
<br />finding a couple of
<br />very large fish does
<br />not indicate an over-
<br />all trend toward
<br />larger fish .or larger
<br />populations, it still is
<br />encouraging to
<br />researchers,
<br />"It's great to see
<br />that the river system
<br />can still produce Tam Chart
<br />these really large adult fish," said Tom
<br />Chart, a biologist with the Utah
<br />Division of Wildlife Resources in
<br />Price, 'That's another sign that there's
<br />hope,"
<br />The fish caught near Moab was 100
<br />long fer the biologists' net and too
<br />
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<br />heavy for the scale, It toek two
<br />researchers, with one net each, to
<br />remove the fish, They estimated its
<br />weight at 20 to 25 pounds,
<br />"When its head came out of the
<br />water, we knew it was bigger than any
<br />we'd seen before," Chart said, "From
<br />fossils, we know squawfish could get
<br />huge. Seeing this fish must have been
<br />what it felt like in old times,"
<br />This fish, which Chart estimated
<br />could be more than 25 years old, prob-
<br />ably was in the Colorado River Basin
<br />prior to the construction of large dams
<br />such as Glen Canyon, which created
<br />Lake Powell, and Flaming Gorge on
<br />the Green River in Utah,
<br />If accidentally hooked by anglers,
<br />squawfish must be released immedi-
<br />ately, unhanned, But if squawfish can
<br />be recovered, they could become a
<br />sportfish, and tomerrow's anglers
<br />could have the .opportunity 10 reel in
<br />adult fish that weigh up to 15 or 20
<br />pounds.
<br />
<br />'Utah ;esearcherslocat~ 49squawfisb ,inColofado,d~~enriVe;~\ '..,.,7<;-.
<br />
<br />'",' ,i ' " ' ' ,"',,',. " ","',".' " ...,,', "".,' ....,. ',',' ."'.' ,., .", ..... Biblrigists s~"iedl:iOiriii~6f .. ',.'.i l11May, 40riiues of the Greihllrld ..'
<br />By arerii Stettler ,.,' .' . '. ", ' ',.,' " ".',' . " '.., ,,' .,' theG reen and 50 miles of the as many mileS of ihe Color3.dii~
<br />,L~~;~~\~~n6~~~~~~~~s~~~:~ ' .'. Colenidoto deteriilinethe)vinllirStir:- '..electro 'shocked to Aeleriilin~the
<br />. " " , ',',"" ," ,,', ',', '" ",vival .of (olonidO squawfishi niiiilber's of squa~fish. which Iurldn
<br />, ,crews of researcheJiisteppedup, .".,'...Survivalseemed lObe as good as .,tliemu4dy waler'siif tliecaiiyoiis~.'
<br />effortS.lhisspring, searching for ',it has been for, the last two yearst · Biologis!scounted 40 juverules imd,
<br />'thniiltei1edand eridangered fiSh of the,' ',,' remarked TciiriCli~UtaliDivlsiori ,',. "adult squawfisliQnlheGreen aIid '
<br />Colo~oandGreen rivers, . ',,"', ,..,',6f\Vi1dlife ReSoUrces biologist. ,',' "nine ontJieColoradO,., '" ,,", , " '
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