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Project 2 —Stock Assessment of Grand Canyon Native Fish (B10 2.R7.10 -11) <br />Start Date <br />2007 <br />End Date <br />Ongoing <br />Principal investigators <br />Fisheries Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and C.J. <br />Walters, University of British Columbia <br />Geographic Scope <br />Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons <br />Project Goals <br />This project will provide annual updates of size composition and capture rates of humpback chub <br />(HBC) and other Grand Canyon fish to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program <br />(GCDAMP) and other managers. Reporting will include retrospective time series to allow for <br />comparison with previous years' data. The assembled HBC data from the Grand Canyon fish <br />monitoring projects will be incorporated into updates of the Age- Structured Mark - Recapture (ASMR) <br />model every 3 years (the next ASMR update will be published in 2012). <br />This project will lead the analyses of existing fish capture information recommended by the 2009 <br />Protocol Evaluation Panel (PEP) for Grand Canyon Fishes. The goal of these analyses is to evaluate <br />whether the fish monitoring project changes recommended by the PEP, especially to reduce some <br />efforts and increase others, are consistent with the available data. <br />This project will seek to develop and implement methods for making the HBC database available <br />electronically. Data serving must be done in a manner consistent with USGS Fundamental Science <br />Practices. <br />Need for Project <br />Native fish populations in Grand Canyon are key resources of concern influencing decisions on both the <br />operation of Glen Canyon Dam and other non -flow actions. To inform these decisions, it is imperative <br />that accurate and timely information on the status of native fish populations, particularly the endangered <br />HBC, be available to managers. <br />Several adaptive experimental management actions are being contemplated to better understand the <br />mechanisms controlling the population dynamics of native fish and to identify policies that are <br />consistent with management goals. The stock assessments generated from this project will support <br />assessment of implemented experimental actions. This information is therefore crucial to <br />• inform the program as to attainment of identified goals, <br />21 <br />