Fish Worth the Watching

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by Mike Stone

Wyoming Wildlife:December 1988

When I approached the assignment to prepare a nongame fish article, an urge to tie it into the new "Wildlife Worth the Watching'' program immediately came to mind. With the recent advertisement on everything from balloons to wristwatches and I thought I saw the first marmot of the season with the logo emblazoned on its side--it seemed like the right thing to do. After reading newspapers quoting our I&ES Division that revenues from this project rival the GNP, I was convinced that this was a good slant for the story.

Bursting with this revelation, I gave my pitch to a Wyoming Wildlife editor who promptly said, "No, Watchable Wildlife does not apply to nongame fish." They would rather have another boring story about how nongame fish are good for bait or as forage for more "desirable'' game fish. After thinking this over for a few days and talking with several biologists, I simply could not agree with the editor's idea for another traditional non-game fish article. If they can run articles about psychedelic weasel attacks and stories that somehow relate rodeos, cowboys, or flowers to a magazine called Wyoming Wildlife, they can take a look at a different approach and decide to either print it or not.

Nongame fish are usually thought of in terms relating to their exploitation to satisfy some perceived need such as bait to catch walleye or the forage base necessary to keep the walleye population healthy enough to satisfy sport fishermen. Take the walleye or other predatory game species out of the picture and interest in the forage fish evaporates.

Another common perception of nongame fish is as trash or rough fish. Designation as a trash animal is a privilege that appears to be granted to fish alone. This terminology has done much to reinforce negative attitudes toward nongame fish. Nongame mammals are not called trash mammals, and even unsavory invertebrates such as leeches are not called trash leeches. About the closest thing to trash animal designation outside of the Class Osteichthyes is the monicker "sky carp" for seagull. But even the sky carp has the dubious distinction of being selected as a state bird. To my knowledge, no state has selected a flannelmouth sucker or other noble nongame fish as its fish. Perhaps one has or soon will.

This trash fish monster is cursed by fishermen who catch it inadvertently and by biologists and anglers who express either real or imagined concern over its competition with the "more desirable" game species. Death by desiccation on the streambank is a fitting end to these creatures in the eyes of many.

Instead, other reasons exist for recognition of nongame fish. Non-game fish are as much a part of Wyoming's native fauna as elk and sage grouse. In fact, more species of nongame fish were native to this state than were trout. Of the numerous common trout species presently occurring here, only the varieties of cutthroat trout are native. In contrast, more than forty nongame fish are native.

Interestingly, when the laws establishing the Game and Fish Commission and defining agency duties were passed, the disdain shown now by some members of the public was not expressed. Section 23-1-103 states that "For the purposes of this act, all wildlife in Wyoming is the property of the state. It is the purpose of this act and the policy of the state to provide an adequate and flexible system for control, propagation, management, protection, and regulation of all Wyoming Wildlife." Fortunately, the legislature exercised more foresight than many people today when they included all wildlife in this statute.

Okay--by now you are thinking that nongame fish have been maligned without reason but are still wondering, "What good are they?" Well, they are good for lots of things. As indicated, they are part of Wyoming's heritage and as such warrant recognition. Humans have developed anthropocentric views that simply fail to hold water in the overall scheme of things. Human designation of animals as "good" or "bad" really does seem pious. Many Wyoming residents have perfected this trait by viewing the whole world as revolving around a sparsely populated state and feeling that their own personal greed should be placed above the good of the nation and benefits to the general public. Nongame fish are legitimate organisms that simply have a right to exist--regardless of what a rancher from Converse County or newspaper reporter from Cheyenne might think.

If you don't subscribe to the argument so far, read on. Nongame fish are environmental indicators or barometers of larger systems. Consider, for example, that the longnose suckers and creek chubs in your nearby stream suddenly die en masse. You would likely be concerned that something is wrong with the water. This actually happens and people get quite upset. The phone rings and the caller is concerned for his health, the health of livestock, birds, mammals, and sometimes even the fish.

On a broader scale, nongame fish can be indicators of the status of and changes in common and unique water systems. Consider the shovelnose sturgeon. This fish was found in the North Platte, Big Horn, and Powder rivers at the turn of the century. Shovelnose sturgeon are now rare--found only in the Powder River and its tributaries. Primary causes for declines in sturgeon distribution are likely habitat alteration by dam construction on the major rivers. I've often been told that fish and general wildlife habitat along these rivers has been improved by the reservoirs. Maybe this is so for some species, but not for all. Free-flowing turbid streams have been impounded by a series of reservoirs. Habitat has been altered and migration routes blocked by dams.

Recent information indicates that many of our sturgeon may reside in Montana for much of their lives, yet return to the Powder River and its tributaries to spawn. An adult sturgeon tagged in Crazy Woman Creek was later caught from the Yellowstone River in Montana, approximately 200 miles away.

While seldom seen in the state, sturgeon raise the interest of fishermen, casual observers, and biologists due to their unusual appearance. These prehistoric-looking creatures are like nothing that most have ever seen. Their appearance prompted one veteran biologist, upon his first encounter with a shovelnose sturgeon, to quip, "I concede that they are probably animals, but I'm still not sure you could call them fish." Distinctive features include a flat, shovel-like snout, rows of sharp armor-like plates instead of traditional scales, an amazing protrusible toothless mouth and four long barbels. These features are obvious adaptations to bottom feeding in turbid rivers. Even internally these fish are distinctive with a cartilaginous, instead of bony, skeleton and spiral intestine instead of the elongate intestine found in most fish. These features are more shark-like than trout- or even sucker-like.

Various sturgeon species are nationally recognized as important. Depending on size, species, and abundance, various sturgeon are prized as either commercial fish, game fish, or a source of roe for caviar. Other rare species are protected. An American Fisheries Society publication entitled MonetaryValues of Fresh water Fish lists the value of $57.00 per pound for sturgeon, including the shovelnose. This is the highest value listed for any freshwater fish. In comparison, trout are listed as $1.89 per pound.

Another interesting nongame species and one "worth the watching'' is the Kendall Warm Springs dace. This tiny minnow occurs only in Kendall Warm Springs where it evolved in adaptation to the springs' eighty-five-degree water source. A travertine embankment separates this subspecies (thermalis for obvious reasons) from its larger cousin, the speckled dace, in the cold Green River.

The Kendall Warm Springs dace is federally listed as an endangered species due to its presence in only one location. This is currently the only federally listed fish species in Wyoming. Kendall Warm Springs is located entirely on the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Pinedale. Habitat protection is thus aided by federal ownership. Taking of the fish is prohibited by the Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but dace are plentiful inside this limited area and can be readily observed from the bank. Nongame fish can indeed qualify as watchable wildlife. But that doesn't really matter anyway. Watchable or not, nongame fish have a value of their own, apart from any value we may see in them.

Many more examples of interesting nongame fish exist, but I had better save those for later just in case I'm ever assigned another traditional nongame fish article.

Biologist Mike Stone serves as ecological services and planning manager in the WG&F's Cheyenne office.