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<br />Pre-stocking Surveys <br />A pre-stocking survey will be necessary in stream reaches where general <br />fish survey information is outdated or absent. Information from this survey <br />should determine the relative abundance of native and introduced fishes and to , <br />what extent predatory fishes occur that may affect the survival of stocked <br />razorback sucker and their progeny. Additionally, this information would <br />serve as baseline data to note what effect, if any, stocking hatchery-produced <br />fish may have on other native fishes. <br />Habitat suitability studies, if designed properly, could provide the <br />necessary pre-stocking survey information. , <br />STOCKING ACTIVITIES <br />Razorback sucker previously stocked in grow-out ponds would be recovered <br />with beach seines. Water levels may have to be drawn down using pumps to <br />facilitate collection and recovery of fish. Fish 250 to 300 mm total length <br />would be used for stocking. Fish would be weighed, measured, and the presence <br />and code of the previously implanted PIT tag verified. Fish will be <br />transported from grow-out ponds to the stocking sites in fish distribution <br />tanks. Fish will be handled and transported as specified in the 'Protocol for <br />Handling and Transport of Endangered Fishes'. Fish will be released in <br />quiet-water areas (e. g., backwaters) that communicate with the river. To <br />evaluate short-term (24 to 48 hours) survival following stocking, a subsample <br />of fish will be retained either in live cages or in a larger area such as a <br />backwater that would be temporarily blocked off with nets. <br />32 <br />41