8057

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8057
• Author: Bennett, J. R., D. A. Krieger, T. P. Nesler, L. E. Harris and R. B. Nehring.
• Title: An Assessment Of Fishery Management And Fish Production Alternatives To Reduce The Impact Of Whirling Disease In Colorado.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: Denver, Colorado.
• Copyright Material: NO

Vim. ALTERNATIVES
Assumed Alternatives
Several alternatives from the preceding list were thought to be "givens," i.e., either already very
likely to occur or so obvious that little more than a reference would be needed to underscore their
importance. They are:
Alternative 1: Implement the WD Policy with respect to protection/stocking restrictions in
native cutthroat trout and wild trout waters.
Alternative 2: Implement recovery, conservation and management plans to expand the
range of three native cutthroat trout, and restore them to a viable biological status.
Alternative 3: Use native cutthroat in their respective drainages as the primary species for
management in headwater drainages to provide catch-and-release and limited-harvest
fishing opportunities.
Alternative 4: Initiate research to determine the density, periodicity, and seasonality of
waterborne spore production in infested waters to reduce the negative impacts to
stocked fish, and evaluate other species and strains of salmonids for resistance to WD.
Alternative 6: Conduct a research project to answer the question of whether the continued
stocking of trout from WD+ units into WD+ habitats increases or maintains WD
spore levels above that produced by the alternative tubifex worm host.
Alternative 19: Buy WD- trout from the private sector.
Because of the time that may be involved to research appropriate methodology and the
actual elimination of WD from infected units, a more immediate solution for the lack of
WD- fish would be to purchase WD- trout from private units. The cost of this option, as
well as the untested mechanics of meeting a specific and demanding stocking regime by
private vendors, this alternative should only be considered for the most urgent "damage
control" situations. The most rigorous testing should be given to the purchased fish (equal
to that at state units) to assure high quality and disease-free status.
Alternative 21: Trade for WD- trout from federal hatcheries.
Another potential strategy for increasing the supply of WD- trout may be trading lightly
infected WD+ trout from state units for WD- trout from the Hotchkiss National Fish
Hatchery. For example, a swap might involve the stocking of lightly infected WD+ trout
into Blue Mesa Reservoir (a positive habitat) and diverting the Hotchkiss WD- fish
scheduled for Blue Mesa to waters limited to WD- stocking.
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