Restoration of a Native Fish Assemblage in the Blue River, Arizona

The Blue River Native Fish Restoration Project aimed to establish and secure populations of native fish in the Blue River Tributary of the upper Gila River Basin. The project involved a 3-step process: 1) building a fish barrier, 2) eliminating non-native fish using mechanical techniques, and 3) translocating and monitoring native species in the lower Blue River. From 2012 to 2019, the team successfully removed non-native Green Sunfish and Channel Catfish, and the assemblage consisted of exclusively native fishes. Due to the low abundance of non-native species, elimination through spearfishing, trapping, and electrofishing proved very effective in this project.