7133

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7133
• Author: Jensen, B. L.
• Title: Role of Fish Culture in Endangered Fishes Recovery
• USFW Year: 1986
• USFW - Doc Type: Transactions of the Bonneville Ch. of the AFS
• Copyright Material: YES

REINTRODUCTION
Large numbers of imperiled southwestern fishes are now produced
annually to enhance reintroduction efforts for these endemic
species._ However, successful hatchery propagation does not
guarantee successful reintroduction. The ultimate goal in the.
recovery effort is to restore depleted or exti: gated members of
the native ichthyofauna to viable, self-sustaining populations
within their historic range. Therein lies the ultimate problem---
overcoming the problem of degradated habitat, introduced fishes
(particularly predatory species), and politics. The first two
remain major obstacles while the latter has improved somewhat with
the 1982 ammendments to the ESA.
Reintroduction efforts are political because they normally involve
stocking listed species that require protective action of the ESA,
and that resource managing agencies must therefore consider in
their planning and work activities (Johnson 1979). A portion of
this problem was overcome in 1981 when the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) and the AGFD signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(IOU) regarding the ,reintroduction of razorback sucker into
selected waters in the Gila River system. Under this arrangement
the FWS agreed not to propose listing the razorback sucker while
attempts were underway to reestablish the species by stocking a
minimum of 100,000 fingerling fish into Arizona waters annually
for LO years (Johnson 1985). A similar reintroduction program was
established when the FWS, AGFD and U. S. Forest Service signed a
MOU to stock endangered Gila topminnow into waters on Forest
Service administered lands in Arizona. Although several
concessions to circumvent constraints of the ESA were necessary in
order to get this MOU signed (i.e., no critical habitat and no
curtailment of present land use practices), the precedent for
recovering listed species through reintroduction was established
(Johnson in Rinne et al. in press). To date, 88 sites have
received Gila topminnow transplants and 34 of them are known to be
successful (Jim Brooks pers. c:omm.)
Stocking
As report_~ in the Culture Section ~:~.^~mary, more than 8.7 million
fry, 790,000 fingerling and 280 adult razorback sucker have bee~~
released into Arizona waters since 1981. The fry were stocked in
the Salt River system to compare fry stockings to fingerling
stockings which were taking place in the upper Verde and Gila
Rivers. Initially, all fingerling razorbacks were marked with
stainless steel coded wire tags. Tagging was discontinued in 1985
after AGFD stocked unmarked fingerlings, reared at Page Springs
State Fish Hatchery, in the Verde River. As previously reported,
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