7342 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

INTRODUCTION Cultural nethods for the propagation of Colorado River threatened and endangered fishes have recently been developed at Willow Beach National Fish Ha~chery (NFH) in Arizona and Dexter NFH in New Mexico. (Toney 1974, Hamman 1981a, 1981b, 1982a, 1982b). Fry and fingerlings produced at these hatcheries have been distributed to state fish hatcheries in Arizona, California, Utah, and to Hotchkiss NFH in Colorado for rearing prior to stocking and for experimental purposes. University laboratories have used many of these fish in research (Miller et ale 1982). Some hatchery-raised Colorado River endangered fishes have been stocked in the Colorado River in Utah, Coiorado and Arizona {Miller, Tyus, & Kaeding 1982 and Johnson and Rinne 1982}. The Colorado River Fishery Project {CRFP} completed a three-year study (1979-1981) of endangered fishes and recommended procedures to protect and preserve these fish and their habitats {Miller et al. 19B1}. Based on these findings and recommendations, a draft Conservation Plan (CP) for Endangered Colorado River Fishes has been developed by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). A part of this plan calls for hatcheries to produce endangered fish to be used in various laboratory-based studies and for reintroduction to augment populations of wild fish. Strategies outlined in the CP call for the use of hatchery fish; l} for research/management studies between 1983 and 1996, 2} for stocking Colorado River endangered fishes to increase UCRB stocks after 1987, and 3) for the development of a sport fishery for Colorado squawfish in a small reservoir in 1990. Humpback and bony tail chubs may also be stocked in the UCRB under the CP if investigations show this to be feasible. The Colorado River Fishes Recovery Team has begun updating Recovery Plans for the Colorado squawfish and humpback chub and is preparing a plan for the bony tail chub. These plans will be released in 1983. Among the recommendations was the hatchery propagation and reintro- duction of endangered fishes for the purpose of reestablishing several self-sustaining populations of each species in the UCRB and the Lower Colorado River Basin (lCRB). The ultimate goal of such introductions is the delisting or downlisting of these species. In 1982, the FWS, Endangered Species Office (SE), Region 6 requested that CRFP conduct a feasibility study for a Colorado River endangered fishes hatchery. This request has resulted in the following study report. The study quantifies the need for hatchery-reared Colorado River fishes in the UCRB; based upon the CP, and in the lCRB based on Recovery Plans for Colorado River fishes. The following report summarizes this feasibility study and recommends how to meet this need effectively ~ and economically. An assessment of existing hatcheries' abilities to produce the needed fish was included in this report. Moreover, new sites and/or facilities were evaluated.