9667

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9667
• Author: Brouder, M. J. and T. L. Hoffnagle.
• Title: Paria River Native Fish Monitoring - 1996-1997 Annual Report.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Flagstaff, AZ.
• Copyright Material: NO

1997 Paria River Native Fish Monitoring
Methods

Seine hauls were conducted using ~ 4.6 x 1.8 m straight seine with a 4.8 mm nylon mesh
at Sites 1 - 9. Site 10 was sampled using a 10.0 x 1.8 m bag seine with a 1.8 x 1.8 x 1.8 m bag
with 6.4 mm mesh. Only one seine haul was made at each site, with the exception of Site 10, at
which as many as five hauls were made.
Fish were identified to species, measured for total length (TL; mm), weighed (0.0 g) and
released alive at site of capture. All native fish z 150 mm TL were scanned for the presence of a
PIT tag. If no tag was present, one was inserted into the fish. PIT tag numbers were recorded
' for all fish.

Depth (cm), velocity (cm/s} and temperature (°C) were recorded from a representative
location within each sampling site. Maximum depth within the seined area was also recorded.
Results
Fish Collections
A total of 587 fish of four species was caught in the Paria River in 1997. Speckled dace
was the most common species caught, comprising 62.2 % (365) of the catch. Flannelmouth
sucker comprised 34.4 % (202) of the catch. Of special note, two bluehead suckers (Catostomus
discobolus), comprising < 1% and 18 (3.1 %) redside shiners (Richardsonius balteatus) were also
caught.
Flannelmouth Sucker
The majority (190; 94.1 %) of flannelmouth suckers were caught at RK 0.0 (the mouth),
whereas only 12 were caught upstream: one at RK 0.5, RK 1.0 and RK 3.0, two at RK 1.8 and
RK 2.0 and five at RK 1.5. The majority of flannelmouth suckers caught were young-of--year
(YOY), with only 16 adults being caught. Mean length of flannelmouth suckers was 65.6 mm
TL and mean weight was 384.5 g (Table 2).
4 Arizona Game & Fish Department Brooder and Ho~agle, 1997 Amwl Report
•I
•I
~~