Laserfiche WebLink
Dexter NFHTC 1984 year class reared at Floyd Lamb State Park in Nevada (Abate et al. 2002). <br />Larval RBS have been collected at several spawning locations in Lake Mead since 1995. In 2002, <br />using fin ray sections, several fish were aged at 6-10 years, indicating recent recruitment to the <br />Lake Mead population (Abate et. al 2002). <br />Currently, the larger Lake Mohave population provides the benchmark for the success of <br />RBS recovery throughout the basin. The recovery effort, as reflected by the intense management <br />program to restore the RBS population in Lake Mohave, relies on augmentation of the existing <br />population with hatchery reared fish. <br />Lake Mohave <br />The largest aggregation of RBS in the Colorado River resides in this mainstem reservoir. <br />The population represents the majority of the genetic diversity remaining in the species, and is <br />essential to the recovery of RBS. The Lake Mohave population consists of a declining number of <br />old adults, estimated to be at least 50 years of age. Adult population estimates have ranged from <br />60,000 individuals in the 1980s to fewer than 2,500 today (T. Burke. Bureau of Reclamation, <br />Pers. comm. 2002). The Lake Mohave Native Fishes Work Group, in a multi- agency <br />conservation effort with the U. S. Fish an d Wildlife Service, has implemented an augmentation <br />program to maintain the Lake Mohave population since 1992. Rearing strategies include the use <br />of federal, state, county and city captive rearing facilities, in addition to off-channel coves to <br />effectively hold and spawn adults, hatch and rear wild caught larvae, juveniles, and sub-adults. <br />Using these many strategies, the Biological Opinion goal (USFWS 1994) to stock 50,000 RBS in <br />Lake Mohave was met in 2001. The current management approach for captive rearing is based on <br />the collection of wild spawned larvae from Lake Mohave adults during the spring spawning <br />season. The larvae are transported to Willow Beach NFH for rearing. Fingerlings are then <br />10