FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Douglas Headrick
San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District
(909) 387-9226
[email protected]
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE REMOVE PREDATORY NON-NATIVE FISH IN
THE SANTA ANA RIVER TO IMPROVE THE HABITAT FOR THE FEDERALLY
THREATENED SANTA ANA SUCKER
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., April 2, 2014 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
in cooperation with local water agencies, recently captured and removed three species
of non-native fish in the Santa Ana River, all of which threaten the federally listed Santa
Ana Sucker and other native fish species.
The non-native fish species included largemouth bass, black bullhead catfish and
green sunfish, said Kai Palenscar, a fish and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
“Some of these fish were large enough to eat adult size native fish,” he said. In
fact, it was discovered that one of the captured bass had recently eaten a native fish, an
arroyo chub.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conducted the non-native fish removal operation
in cooperation with local water agencies, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife,
and the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District (RCRCD), which have been
working together to restore habitat for the Santa Ana Sucker and other native species
along the Santa Ana River.
The captured non-native fish included two largemouth bass; 14 black bullhead
catfish; and one green sunfish, Palenscar said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service used electroshock fishing techniques to remove the
non-native fish from a pool of water in the Santa Ana River.
With electroshocking, electrodes are placed in the water that emit a pulse of
electricity, which temporarily stuns the fish and causes them to float to the surface of the
water with their bellies up. This makes it easy for Fish and Wildlife Service personnel to
identify native from non-native fish species so that they can be removed with a net.
After about a minute or so, the fish recover from the electroshocking and start
swimming normally again.
Palenscar said no Santa Ana Suckers were found in the pool of water on Feb. 13
when the electroshocking activity took place. He said the Fish and Wildlife Service
conducted the electroshocking exercise because the agency knew that non-native fish
were in the Santa Ana River and that they posed a threat to Santa Ana Sucker.
The Santa Ana Sucker is federally listed as a “threatened” species, which is one
level down from being an endangered species.
Palenscar said the source of the non-native fish in the electroshocked pool is not
known.
“Further downstream there are residential lakes with non-native fish which
overflow into the Santa Ana River. These fish, once in the river, tend to inhabit the
larger pools.”
Palenscar said the Fish and Wildlife Service is planning to do more electroshock
fishing along the Santa Ana River this fall.
In March of last year, more than 400 non-native fish were removed from the
Tequesquite Arroyo, a storm channel that feeds the Santa Ana River just west of Mount
Rubidoux in Riverside. The fish were relocated to Lake Elsinore through a cooperative
effort between RCRCD and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Local water agencies, including San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District
(Valley District) and Western Municipal Water District (Western), paid for the non-native
fish relocation as part of a larger project to clean up the Tequesquite Arroyo so that it
could be used as a refuge and spawning area for Santa Ana Suckers and other native
fish species, including the Arroyo Chub.
A 2,000-foot section of the Tequesquite Arroyo passes by the site of a former
municipal dump and was previously choked with chunks of old concrete, asphalt, fallen
limbs and trash, which reduced water movement through the creek. RCRCD removed
the debris as part of the habitat restoration effort funded by local water agencies.
RCRCD crews also removed 123 non-native plants to reduce their impacts on
surrounding native vegetation. Several non-native trees were controlled with an
herbicide, but will be left in place because their trunks and branches can be used by
native birds.
Trash control, non-native fish and amphibian removal will continue during the
next phase of the Tequesquite Arroyo restoration project along with water quality
testing, supplemental planting and fish habitat enhancement.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Valley District
and Western, set up a Restoration / Recovery Trust Fund to pay for native fish species
habitat restoration and recovery efforts. The two water agencies have already
contributed $400,000 to the habitat restoration fund since it was formed in 2007 and
have pledged to continue making annual payments of $50,000 through 2016.
“We very much appreciate the cooperation and collaboration we have received
from local water agencies as we work together to restore habitat along the Santa Ana
River,” said Ken Corey, assistant field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and other agencies are currently
working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a habitat conservation plan
for the upper Santa Ana River in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
Details on habitat recovery projects along the Santa Ana River are available
at www.sbvmwd.com.