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Show ;gLs manage to capture Colo, i c uawfish, now going for more !"'-::-'.- :om the Interior In-terior Id, -a. '"u iu's Fish :v.l ' -SC.- . .Service and Hv: ..; "t ciumation coU.v.iYi ii adult Colorado Colo-rado ;-a, .i.-'vTish, an ;n-ilii'tgo-e.l ; ' .':'os, in the Colorado ---r near Gnu.! ' jtn.-ili.it in lata Ajuti. Ti? tish were tvaiisportl t;' tdi-a Fish u-ni Wi'diT' Sen-ice's V'ddv- IV. -ad Xaticnal Fish ' .acac-y a diizona, vnere t 1 . a dl ho a.sed to iorai a iaa" ove 'a'ee:lin;r son:k. Th-; feaai o! scientists hopes 'o iaadi another 10 atiuk C .!)!.': soiua.vfish o.i t'-.e Green kher in laah ihis mnnih. to eo'ijoKao ;he number of fish aa d. d al dao U'ilW Beach h i .a ay. St;uaw-fiVn St;uaw-fiVn li'... " av! at the itata'a-: - e'. ; rtaiady will he leveed , r s al' their for: ht ran -a a : iu i they arc a - , .xdo, t. ,, H in other areas ta acloiaent no. u ;! n-pui-:. ions. Th,, dJlcav! , f-.j-o-a.-.v-dsh. v aVh o roamed the La ; a y of the enu: a Ola,-;.' - Idvar basil", bas-il", la i. a .-. f,-dy in pa.as c th-j nr.; , r 'v. sin in (V v- o ;cal Ida!.. The S';aa- d a Is a lenar, s.iaaa --.a'- a i ad. o -l looks ai.::C"'i .' 'a ' a a '.:ke or v;.il"; c. Th, I. ::.vst n-in-itoy ai I'd::- a daaa'dea. il one a a aiat d a d :.:ih of 6 feet aad a v aaaat at r early 'ia' a:a:r.a. to-ae laraar ti-.aa o i Hiids has been caa:,at ivo O i ' 1 d ia Cou.eain (' a ; a. s.cauwhsil once v,-..-:e .') (.oniraon farru .-s spaaa-d them with pitchforks from irrigation irri-gation canals to use as fertilizer. Early settlers and native Americans prized the fish, also known as the Colorado or white salmon, as an important food source. Several factors have eontribated to the decline of the Colorado squaw-iish. squaw-iish. Adapted to silty, turbulent waters, it cannot survive in reservoirs or the cold tailwaters below dams. Competition from introduced fishes also has depleted its numbers, as have reductions in river flows in the basin. Other native Colorado River jishes are imperiled for the same reasons. The humpback chub also is listed as endangered. Two others have been proposed propos-ed for listing the bonytail chiib as endangered, and the ra.orback sucker as a threatened species. Methods of Capture The team of biologists, six from the Fish and Wildlife Service and two from the Bureau of Reclamation, Re-clamation, used a variety of methods to capture the squawfish. Three types of nets were used to trap the fish. A boat equipped with an electroshocking device was provided by the Bureau of Reclamation to prowl areas where trap nets were not set. The team worked the Colorado T.iver at Palisade (upriver from Grand Junction) and at the Walker Wildlife Area, a unit administered by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. All of the squawfish were captured at or near the Walker Wildlife Area. Once the squawfish were caught, they were examined and treated for external parasites. Lern-aea, Lern-aea, worm-like parasites that attack many Colorado River fishes, were picked off the fish; the fish then were treated with an antiseptic. On April 24, the fish were transferred to a riatchery truck from Willow Beach. "It's been like picking needles out of a haystack," hay-stack," said Jim Johnson, Endangered Species Biologist Biol-ogist from the Fish and Wildlife Service's Albuquerque Albu-querque office. "We've seen thousands of carp and suckers, and a few bass and catfish. We depended on some luck, plus help from the Colorado Colo-rado Division of Wildlife and the good advice of a private consultant, George Geor-ge Kidd. "We have high hopes for the squawfish," Johnson John-son said. "If it can be reestablished in healthy numbers, 'we believe it has great potential as a sport fish. Since it is a largely predatory fish, it will strike artificial lures. Several species of trout have been restored to their native habitats in the west, and we've been able to take them off the endangered species list. We hope we can do the same thing with- the Colorado squawfish." |
