The Fight for an Invisible Fish

[UngulateNerd92]

I became a plaintiff in a lawsuit for the Clear Lake hitch — a fish I’ve never seen. As the species quickly disappears, how much longer will it swim the waters of California?

This spring, in response to reports of dead and dying fish, teams of government wildlife staff and Tribal environmental specialists grabbed their backpack electrofishers, dip nets, buckets, aerated coolers and rubber gloves. For weeks they searched along drought-stressed creeks to save what fish they could find. One by one, they gently stunned and netted 360 adults and fry (juveniles) in rapidly diminishing pools before transporting them for release into a nearby lake.

This was not the first such rescue — similar efforts to save the rare and rapidly declining Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicaulda chi) took place in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

The Fight for an Invisible Fish • The Revelator

 

[troutaddict]

Wow, even as a Northern California local, I had no idea about this species. I'm totally down a new rabbit hole now.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Wow, even as a Northern California local, I had no idea about this species. I'm totally down a new rabbit hole now.

Thank you for your interest. Which Endangered and Threatened California native freshwater fish are you familiar with so far?

 

[troutaddict]

Thank you for your interest. Which Endangered and Threatened California native freshwater fish are you familiar with so far?

I'm actually not super knowledgeable yet on threatened fish! I know about rainbow trout/steelhead, cause that's what I used to fish. They were on the decline in the river that runs through my hometown, and there have been several pollution incidents in surrounding creeks.

Though I just got really interested in the topic since I just picked up a book called "Freshwater Fishes of California" at a used book shop. It's an old book but I've learned how populations have changed in such a short amount of time.

 

[Terry Thomas]

I became a plaintiff in a lawsuit for the Clear Lake hitch — a fish I’ve never seen. As the species quickly disappears, how much longer will it swim the waters of California?

This spring, in response to reports of dead and dying fish, teams of government wildlife staff and Tribal environmental specialists grabbed their backpack electrofishers, dip nets, buckets, aerated coolers and rubber gloves. For weeks they searched along drought-stressed creeks to save what fish they could find. One by one, they gently stunned and netted 360 adults and fry (juveniles) in rapidly diminishing pools before transporting them for release into a nearby lake.

This was not the first such rescue — similar efforts to save the rare and rapidly declining Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicaulda chi) took place in 2014, 2016 and 2018. If they are invisible you are unlikely to have seen one - how does anyone know it exists??

The Fight for an Invisible Fish • The Revelator

I became a plaintiff in a lawsuit for the Clear Lake hitch — a fish I’ve never seen. As the species quickly disappears, how much longer will it swim the waters of California?

This spring, in response to reports of dead and dying fish, teams of government wildlife staff and Tribal environmental specialists grabbed their backpack electrofishers, dip nets, buckets, aerated coolers and rubber gloves. For weeks they searched along drought-stressed creeks to save what fish they could find. One by one, they gently stunned and netted 360 adults and fry (juveniles) in rapidly diminishing pools before transporting them for release into a nearby lake.

This was not the first such rescue — similar efforts to save the rare and rapidly declining Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicaulda chi) took place in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

The Fight for an Invisible Fish • The Revelator

 

[UngulateNerd92]

I'm actually not super knowledgeable yet on threatened fish! I know about rainbow trout/steelhead, cause that's what I used to fish. They were on the decline in the river that runs through my hometown, and there have been several pollution incidents in surrounding creeks.

Though I just got really interested in the topic since I just picked up a book called "Freshwater Fishes of California" at a used book shop. It's an old book but I've learned how populations have changed in such a short amount of time.

Ah very nice. Is that the one written in 2006 by Samuel M. McGinnis and illustrated by Doris Alcorn? In my collection, I have "Inland Fishes of California" by Peter B. Moyle written in 2002, published by The University of California Press.