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b. The highest mortality is expected for 4-inch fish, less for 8-inch <br />fish, and the lowest mortality for 12-inch fish. Mortality for all <br />size groups will be highest shortly after stocking. Limited data <br />from stocking razorback suckers in the San Juan River suggest that <br />large fish have survived better than smaller ones. <br />c. Most stocked fish will move downstream after stocking-many miles in <br />some cases. Most movement will probably occur fairly quickly. <br />However, downstream displacement will probably continue for weeks or <br />even months. Stocked fish in the San Juan River have moved as far as <br />60 miles downstream. <br />d. Fish will survive best if released after spring runoff when they <br />could be rapidly washed downstream, but before winter when water <br />temperatures decrease substantially. <br />3. Source of Fish <br />The razorback sucker stocking plan for the Green River (USFWS 1995b) <br />identifies using wild razorback sucker larvae from natural propagation <br />to augment the current population. However, since no razorback sucker <br />larvae have been found in either the Colorado or Gunnison rivers and <br />adult numbers are far less than that encountered in the Green River, <br />razorback sucker to be stocked into the Gunnison and Upper Colorado <br />rivers will be produced from captive-reared broodstock. Fifteen wild <br />adult fish (seven females and eight males) obtained from four different <br />sources in the Upper Colorado River Basin and currently being maintained <br />in ponds at Horsethief SWA will be used to produce offspring for <br />stocking and for future broodstock. These wild fish were collected from <br />the Colorado River arm of Lake Powell (two males, two females), the <br />Upper Colorado River near Grand Junction (two males, two females), the <br />San Juan arm of Lake Powell (three males, one female), and Etter Pond <br />(one male, two females). <br />Captive spawning of these 15 fish will follow the appropriate breeding <br />strategy as outlined in the Genetics Management Guidelines (Williamson <br />and Wydoski, 1994) such that the probability of inbreeding depression <br />will not exceed five percent. Fish will be produced from paired matings <br />of known parents. Because of the limited number of wild fish available, <br />each fish will be mated with more than one individual of the opposite <br />sex Each family lot will be maintained separately until they are large <br />enough to be PIT tagged-about four inches long. All fish produced from <br />these controlled matings will be PIT tagged so that their genetic <br />background will be known. After tagging, young fish from different lots <br />will be combined in rearing ponds. Each family lot will be represented <br />equally in the fish held for brood stock, as well as those stocked into <br />the wild (Allendorf 1993). Certain paired matings may have to be <br />repeated in consecutive years to even fish numbers because of <br />differential survival among lots. <br />6