FISH

Emery Kolb holding a 25lb. Colorado Pikeminnow

Other Native Fish Grand Canyon was once home to eight species of native fish. Only five of these species are found in the park today. Following the completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the fish assemblage in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon has shifted to a non-native rainbow trout fishery in the stretches of river closest to the dam and above the Little Colorado River. Of the canyon's native fish species, only speckled dace remain truly common in the park, and they live primarily in tributaries which retain their natural characteristics more than the Colorado River. Two species of Grand Canyon's native fish are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Humpback chub, which used to be abundant in Grand Canyon, has been listed as an endangered species since 1967. Razorback Suckers are very rare in the canyon, and were listed as endangered in 1991. Grand Canyon has a very distinctive collection of native fish. All eight native species belong to only two families: minnows (Cyprinidae) and suckers (Catostomidae). Six of the eight native species are found only in the Colorado River basin. This very high percentage of endemic fish species likely results from the geographic isolation of the Colorado River system, and the highly variable natural environments, flow and temperature regimes of the river and its tributaries. The Colorado River has the lowest diversity of native fish and the highest level of endemism of any river system in North America. The river's unusual native fish assemblage is as iconic a characteristic of Grand Canyon as its towering cliffs and spectacular scenery.[1] LTEMP Resource Goal for Other Native Fish Maintain self-sustaining native fish species populations and their habitats in their natural ranges on the Colorado River and its tributaries. Desired Future Condition for Native Species and Biotic Communities Native Species: Native fish species and their habitats (including critical habitats) sustainably maintained throughout in each species’ natural ranges in the CRE. • A healthy, self-sustaining populations of other remaining native fish with appropriate distribution (flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker, speckled dace, so that listing under the ESA is not needed.

Updates [2] [3] Native fish in the Grand Canyon: There are four types of fish that frequent the Colorado River and Lake Powell that are listed as endangered are the razorback sucker, Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub and bonytail. In addition to the above, the Colorado River is home to the bluehead sucker, flannelmouth sucker, roundtail chub and speckled dace.

Links and Information Species of Management Concern National Park Service Comprehensive Fisheries Management Plan 2016 Fish Protocol Evaluation Panel (PEP) Fish Pages Humpback Chub Page Razorback Sucker Page Bonytail Page Colorado Pikeminnow Page Presentations and Papers 2017 Humpback Chub Aggregations (w-catches for flannelmouth sucker System Wide Monitoring PPT 2016 Hualapai Native Fish Rearing Facility Cyprinid Fish Larvae and Early Juveniles of the Upper Colorado River Basin—Morphological Descriptions, Comparisons, and Computer-Interactive Key Dodrill, M.J., and Yackulic, C.B., 2016, Nonlinear relationships can lead to bias in biomass calculations and drift-foraging models when using summaries of invertebrate drift data: Environmental Biology Fish, p. 1-12 2015 GCMRC Science Updates - Fisheries Mercury and Selenium levels in the Grand Canyon foodweb Glen Canyon Tailwater Fishery “Integrating Fish and Channel Mapping” Potential Application of an Individual-Based Model to the Glen Canyon” Native and Nonnative Interactions; Factors Influencing Predation and Competition Quagga Mussel Risk Assessment 2014 Science Updates - Recent Research on Sand, Bugs, and Fish Status of Fish Resources Quagga Mussels-Impacts and Solutions for Hydropower Facilities National Park Service Comprehensive Fisheries Management Plan Non-native Fish Control in Tributaries: Grand Canyon National Park (Healy) Native Fish Population Trends – Grand Canyon Tributaries Razorback Sucker: Status and Habitat Use (Healy) 2013 The 'Other Fish' Category 2012 Native fish and fish habitats in Glen and Grand Canyons: The role of the Paria River and needs and uses for a Paria Ponds Experimental Station 2009 Surveys of fish in the Glen Canyon Dam forebay Fall Steady Flow Experiment Science Plan 1992 Nonnative fishes of the Grand Canyon; A review with regards to their effects on native fishes. Allen Haden, GCES Other Stuff Native Fishes of Glen and Grand Canyon NPS Fish Species found in the Grand Canyon NPS Grand Canyon Vertebrate Species List NPS Grand Canyon Threatened & Endangered Species List