Invasion of illegally introduced burbot in the upper Colorado River Basin, USA

Abstract

Summary Illegally introduced burbot (Lota lota) populations have spread throughout the Green River drainage (GRD) of the upper Colorado River Basin in Wyoming and Utah, USA where they are having adverse effects on native and sport fisheries. We analyzed existing data to evaluate the status of burbot in southwestern Wyoming. Burbot appear to have been illegally introduced into Big Sandy Reservoir in the early‐ to mid‐1990’s, based on capture of burbot in 2003 that included one 16 year old fish and several between 7 and 12 years of age. Burbot began expanding throughout the Green River Drainage in the early 2000s and, with the assistance of a secondary introduction into Fontenelle Reservoir, have successfully invaded most portions of the GRD upstream of the Flaming Gorge Dam. Only one burbot has been captured downstream of Flaming Gorge Reservoir, but this detection indicates potential for downstream establishment in the future. Burbot are difficult to sample, especially in large rivers, so we recommend sampling techniques to monitor the expansion of burbot in lotic and lentic habitats of the upper Colorado River Basin as well as highlight research opportunities associated with this invasion.

Habitat use of non-native burbot in a western river

“…The eradication of burbot from the Green River is unlikely given their prevalence throughout much of the river upstream of Flaming Gorge Reservoir (Gardunio et al, 2011). As a result, management actions will likely focus on decreasing the abundance of burbot in the Green River.…”

“…They have a circumpolar distribution that rarely extends south of 40°N, and occupy a diversity of lentic and lotic habitats throughout Europe, Asia, and North America (Tammi et al, 1999;McPhail & Paragamian, 2000;Stapanian et al, 2008Stapanian et al, , 2010. In the 1990s, burbot were illegally introduced into the Big Sandy River, Wyoming (Gardunio et al, 2011;Fig. 1).…”

“…One such regionally undesirable, non-native species is burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus; Gardunio et al, 2011). Burbot are the only freshwater member of the family Gadidae (Howes, 1991).…”

“…Since their introduction, burbot have been sampled upstream of the confluence of the New Fork and Green rivers downstream to Dinosaur National Monument on the UtahColorado border (Gardunio et al, 2011). The presence of burbot in the Green River system raises concern regarding management of socially and economically important trout fisheries (i.e., brown trout Salmo trutta Linnaeus, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss [Walbaum], Colorado River cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus [Richardson]) and the conservation of native nongame fishes (i.e., bluehead sucker Catosomus discobolus Cope, flannelmouth sucker Catosomus latipinnis Baird & Girard, roundtail chub Gila robusta Baird & Girard; WGFD, 2010; Gardunio et al, 2011). Despite these concerns, effective management of burbot in the Green River has been stymied by insufficient information on their basic biology and ecology.…”

Ecology, culture, and management of Burbot: an introduction

“…Although illegally stocked Burbot have spread in the upper Colorado River system (USA) (Gardunio et al, 2011), the species is often ignored in fish management and conservation programs (McPhail & Paragamian, 2000;Stapanian et al, 2010). This is due in part to its unpopularity as a sport and commercial fish in much of its range, despite studies indicating that Burbot meat is palatable and nutritious (Brannion, 1930;Tack et al, 1947;Staba, 1979;Addis, 1990;Stapanian & Kakuda, 2008 and references therein).…”