Laserfiche WebLink
rate of adult razorback sucker (0.70) and the recovery goal abundance buffer of 30%. <br />Domestic-reared razorback sucker will be used to establish new populations in the Upper <br />Colorado and Gunnison rivers or augment existing populations (e.g., Green River system). <br />Stocking domestic-reared razorback sucker will continue until more fish recruit to the adult <br />population through natural reproduction in the wild. As more razorback sucker recruit to the <br />adult population by natural reproduction in the wild, stocking hatchery-propagated fish in the wild <br />should be reduced. For razorback sucker populations to be self-sustaining, adult fish must <br />reproduce and recruitment of young fish into the adult population must occur at a rate to maintain <br />the population at a minimum of 5,800 adults (FWS 2002). At this point, stocking razorback <br />sucker in the wild should be discontinued. <br />The RP has sufficient facilities and associated grow-out ponds to meet the demands of the <br />integrated stocking plans (Czapla 2002). The production of razorback sucker to meet the number <br />identified in the Utah stocking plan requires 2.0 ha (5.0 acres) of hatchery ponds and 4.2 ha (10.4 <br />acres) of leased grow-out ponds. The production of razorback sucker to meet the numbers in the <br />Colorado stocking plan require 7.3 ha (18.1 acres) of leased grow-out ponds. Forty hectares (98 <br />acres) of grow-out ponds are available for use in the Grand Valley near Grand Junction, Colorado <br />(Czapla 2002). <br />Purpose and Objectives <br />The purpose of this study was to evaluate the survival and performance of three different <br />sizes of domestically-propagated and reared razorback sucker following stocking in the Upper <br />Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Domestically-propagated and reared fish included fish raised in <br />hatcheries and grow-out ponds. This was an experimental stocking program aimed at predicting <br />the potential success of subsequent supplemental stockings. Experimental stocking is a legitimate, <br />tool that can used as an action preliminary to the decision of whether restoration or augmentation <br />stocking has a chance of success (Williamson 2001). Experimental stocking can help define <br />restoration stocking as a preferred production strategy. <br />The study goals were to: <br />1. Evaluate the relation between survival of razorback sucker and size at release into the <br />river, either by stocking captive-reared fish or by producing fish in enhanced flooded <br />bottomland habitats, <br />2. Re-introduce razorback sucker in the Gunnison River that would result in 10 adult fish <br />per river mile in suitable habitat with a target of re-establishing a population of about <br />6