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MOAB — Utah wildlife biologists point to roundtail chub, a species endemic to the Colorado River Basin, as a successful example of how projects can protect declining animal species.
And now the state has a new facility that aims to build on those successes. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials announced Tuesday that they recently opened a new fishery that seeks to grow even more roundtail chub, which remains a "species of greatest conservation need."
The division opened a new roundtail chub nursery pond at Old City Park Pond in Moab. Biologists netted 31 fish from the nearby Dolores River and stocked them in the pond to begin operations last week. It's the state's second fishery of this kind, joining Cottonwood Pond in Emery County which also serves as a roundtail chub nursery pond.
Tyler Arnold, a native aquatics biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said the new nursery will be used to raise more fish that are ultimately released back into the Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado River. This is expected to begin in 2025.
"This pond was an ideal location for the nursery, due to its location and water conditions, which should contribute to the successful growth and reproduction of these fish," Arnold said in a statement. "It was a great collaboration with Moab city, and we are so grateful for their support of native fish conservation."
Roundtail chub have been considered a "species of greatest conservation need" for quite some time, losing populations as a result of a few factors, including lower water flows during the drought, warmer water temperatures, as well as dam and diversion projects that impacted their natural habitats across the basin, wildlife biologists say.
However, they say actions to protect the species since 2006 allowed the species to recover, ultimately keeping it from being listed under the Endangered Species Act. The species' recovery has been strong enough that the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources even began allowing anglers to catch the fish species again this year after a rule change made last year.
"It is really exciting to see the conservation success of this species and to be able to help their populations continue to recover," Arnold added. "Efforts like this new nursery pond will help keep this species from being listed under the Endangered Species Act and will allow more people to get to enjoy them."
Even though roundtail chub is now a sportfish in Utah, division officials said Tuesday that anglers will not be allowed to fish in the Moab pond because it is a nursery. Instead, anglers will have to wait for the fish to be released back into the river basin if they want to catch them.
