| To understand the future of the Colorado River, look to a frowny, eel-faced fish: the humpback chub | |
| By Judy Fahys |
Source: colorado sun |
7/9/2020 |
|
|
|
Charismatic is hardly the best word to describe the humpback chub, a fish with a frowny eel face jammed onto a sportfish body in a way that suggests evolution has a sense of humor.
Nor did tastiness build a fan base for this “trash fish” across its natural habitat throughout the Colorado River Basin. But, in 1973, the humpback chub became famous by winning federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Researchers in the Grand Canyon now spend weeks at a time, several times a year, monitoring humpback chub, which has become central to an ecosystem science program with implications for millions of westerners who rely on Colorado River water.
Dennis Harris, who guides an electrofishing boat for a research contractor, is part of the science crew that briefed me last year at the world’s largest known humpback chub hangout, just below the confluence of the Little Colorado River with the Colorado in Arizona. He spun a yarn about what fish say upon their return to home waters—how they survived an alien abduction. |
|
|
“They scooped me up in a net and took me to the Mother Ship and stuck me with a piece of glass and probed my genitals and brought me back here,’” Harris said, throwing his head back and splaying his arms to imitate fish stunned by the electric current.
“And all their friends go, ‘Yeah, right.’”
Funny as that sounds, the humpback chub’s experience is surprisingly meaningful now, as its river habitat deep in the iconic, redrock canyon becomes the subject of new scrutiny. New negotiations about the Colorado’s future begin later this year in a world that has fundamentally changed since foundational water agreements were drawn up, back when the river was flush and the entire basin was treated like a giant network of irrigation ditches. |
|
|
|
|
| News Id | | Source | Stamp | country |
| 3276 | Maine lobsterman scores 1-in-100 million catch: an ultra-rare cotton candy lobster | foxnews | 2021-11-10 | US |
| 3277 | When fish ingest plastic, the impacts are complicated | earth.com | 2021-10-28 | SZ |
| 3278 | WA fish researchers use tiny sensors and other tech to save salmon | kxly | 2021-10-29 | US |
| 3279 | Pineapple skin diet shown to boost growth and immune system of tilapia | newatlas | 2021-10-25 | RU |
| 3280 | На Ямале добыто более девяти тысяч тонн рыбы | korabel | 2021-11-05 | RU |
| 3281 | Производство семги и форели достигло объемов "выпавшего" импорта | korabel | 2021-11-12 | RU |
| 3282 | Новый НИС сдадут в 2026 году | korabel | 2021-11-12 | RU |
| 3283 | France detains UK boat as spat over fishing rights escalates | CNN | 2021-10-29 | UK |
| 3284 | Studying sturgeon: Biologists have giant questions about monster fish in upper Snake River | idahostatejournal | 2021-10-22 | US |
| 3285 | World's most expensive fish that can rake in millions spotted off the UK coast | dailystar | 2021-10-24 | UK |
| 3286 | How does this fish keep its 500 teeth nice and sharp? Scientists have the answer | CBC Radio | 2021-11-04 | CA |
| 3287 | A Q&A with Mark Spitzer, renowned expert on fugly fish | 4state news | 2021-10-25 | US |
| 3288 | This odd Colorado River fish faces an uncertain future | nationalgeographic | 2021-10-18 | US |
| 3289 | Norway reveals plans for river trap system to protect wild salmon | theguardian | 2021-10-21 | NO |
| 3290 | Magnet Fishing, a Pandemic Craze, Is Now Creating Trash Problems | wsj | 2021-10-17 | DE |
| 3291 | 'Stunned' researchers rescue 4,000-pound sunfish from net | usatoday | 2021-10-19 | US |
| 3292 | Tongue-eating creature found inside fish at Texas state park is the stuff of nightmares | ksat | 2021-10-20 | US |
| 3293 | After 19 fishing deaths in Texas, officials are offering tips for anglers to stay safe | mysanantonio | 2021-10-22 | US |
| 3294 | Algae-purified wastewater used to raise fish | newatlas | 2021-10-21 | CN |
| 3295 | Fly fish angler reels in potential world-record blue catfish in Texas river | ksat | 2021-10-21 | US |
| 3296 | Would you quit your job for $110,000? This California swordfish catcher said no | latimes | 2021-10-15 | US |
| 3297 | Fish farmers 'should face penalties and even criminal charges for mass escapes' | heraldscotland | 2021-10-16 | UK |
| 3298 | Fishing without hooks, rods, reels: This old method still works | The Post and Courier | 2021-10-17 | US |
| 3299 | NJ angler sets new fishing record in landlocked reservoir | Fox News | 2021-10-29 | US |
| 3300 | After poll, lawmakers will propose Lake Erie favorite as Ohio’s state fish | wkbn | 2021-10-14 | US |
|
|
|
|
|
|