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<br />Health.- Adults in Lake Mohave and in the Green River appear to be <br />in good health. However, as with the humpback chub, handling and captivity <br />sometimes injures and stresses these fish which leads to infection with <br />bacteria and fungus. Disease organisms found on such fish are by no <br />means a threat to the wild population as a whole. <br />Razorback Sucker <br />Distribution and Abundance <br />Razorback suckers were infrequently caught in the mainstem river <br />reaches during systematic sampling. Substantial numbers were caught in <br />a few limited areas in the spring and early summer during special field <br />investigations. <br />The systematic sampling program produced only five razorback suckers <br />in the Green River and ten in the main Colorado. Those of the Colorado <br />exhibited no discernable trends in population concentrations with cap- <br />tures being widely distributed from Lake Powell to near Rifle. In the <br />Green, collections suggested that the greatest concentrations were in <br />the moderate sandy reach between Split Mountain Gorge and Desolation <br />Canyon. <br />Special investigations conducted by CRFP and collections by other <br />agencies accounted for 84 captures from three confined, localized areas <br />that appeared to be spawning congregations or fish that were staging <br />preliminary to spawning. These localized areas were in the confluence <br />zone of Ashley Creek on the Green River, the Walter k'alker Wildlife <br />Management Area gravel pit and the Clifton Pond gravel pit on the Colorado <br />River. <br />Three razorbacks captured and tagged at Ashley Creek were recap- <br />tured during a three-week period. Five of 42 razorbacks captured and <br />tagged in the Walker Wildlife Management Area and Clifton Pond were <br />subsequently recaptured in the same area over periods of one day to one <br />year. <br />Razorback suckers were clearly rare and seemed to be relatively <br />stationary except during the spawning season when they congregated in a <br />very few areas. <br />In the Lower Colorado River Basin, a similar situation exists. A <br />few razorback suckers are taken from the Colorado Rivez below Parker Dam <br />and some older adults are taken from Lake Havasu and Lake Mohave. <br />Rowever, reproduction in the Lower river is also nonexistant or insignificant. <br />Our investigations did not demonstrate any natural recruitment for these <br />fish within recent times. Unless some significant recovery/ management <br />actions are taken, continued survival of razorback suckers in the upper <br />Colorado is doubtful. <br />Migration~arid Movement <br />Findings from previous studies by McAda and Wydoski (1980) have <br />demonstrated that razorbacks can move 20 mi or more over several months <br />and up to 80 mi in a few years. <br />