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rs rx.:J-(\~ i c. K. 0 ('0 I L{ 71 1,,"20 ~ .~ Humpbacks and Bony Tails: Utah's Rare Fish ).... fy ....... ~ I. "u Ct) ~ 22 edge ;'" ; \~ )l.;) } \.. rf' I Photos, Courtesy Utah Cooperative Fishery Research Unit Vi IlSr'!'.I."!"'" ,...", ~".....h * I L;t.. \h:.\ 0706 'f What fish have humped backs, bony tails, sharp spines, are over 150 cm (5 ft) long, and weigh over 45 kg (100 Ib)? Of course, no one fish has all these strange characteristics. But the humps, spines, and large size are features found in a special group-Vtah's rare fish species. The Colorado squawfish is perhaps the most spectacular of this unique group. It is big, like the 'Colorado and Green rivers in which it is found, Fish weighing up to 45 kg (loa lbs) were occasionally taken by commercial fishermen back in the early 1900s. What's more unusual is that, according to fish taxonomists, this fish is a minnow-undoubtedly the largest member of the minnow family (Cyprinidae). This fish's place in the history of the West is also noteworthy. William Ashley, an earlv (1825) pioneer of the Inte(- mountain West, reported that his party of river-floating ex- plorers depended on the squawfish caught from the Creen River for food. "We find them," Ashley reported, "of an excellent kind. . . [and] similar in appearance to our pike." The members of the expedi- tion led by John Wesley Powell, first white man to view the majestic canyon country of the Colorado, also dined on squawfish. Powell's diary mentions the squawfish only in passing; he was more interested in describing the geology of the new land open- ing before them. However, in the diaries of his men, who were more concerned with things gastronomical. frequent mention is made of fishing for (kr't'"1 ) ) q1'1 \ the large "pike." They found it welcome food since they were "anxious for some change from salt meat fare." '. Because of their spring migration upstream to spawn, squawfish were named "white salmon" and "Colorado salmon" by settlers along the major rivers. These people also found them an important food. To other settlers, the fish was known as "white fish" and "pike." Its value as food was noted in the diaries of early Mormon explorers and mis- sionaries like Jacob Hamblin, Joseph Fish, and John Lee, and around the turn of the 19th century, several commercial fishermen along the Colqrado earned a profitable living by capturing and marketing the squawfish. It was the most highly prized catch among the native fishes. . Since those early days, biologists have learned much about this large minnow. We know that it is one of the top predators in the river. Its streamlined body and large mouth make it an efficient piscivore, and squawfish over 200 mm (8 in) eat only fish. We know that the squawfish frequents most habitat types in large rivers and is often found in eddies, backwaters, and deep pools. We know that 2- ~Jae j i''''I>~V/l L (b.f,~iJrQ,S/ fMP0. Coh1ra.i(1 SI1/l/HLlfi."h. t1bout .6 H:etcr5 long 2(1) : Z-J.- --:2.. s: