Saving stranded suckers: RES mounts a rescue operation prior to dam removal The critically endangered fish are called C’waam and Koptu in the native tongue of the Klamath Tribes in Southern Oregon. While the entire population of these two species of fish is imperiled, a stranded population disconnected from their home waters was in particular danger. Without intervention, hundreds of fish would certainly perish.   Enter RES. As part of the Klamath River dam removal and restoration project, our team was entrusted to lead a complex rescue and relocation effort for these increasingly rare species of suckers—including the C’waam or Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus), Koptu or shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris), and Klamath largescale sucker (Catostomus snyderi).  Daniel Chase, Director of Fisheries, Aquatics and Design for RES’ Western Region, supervised an intense operation that spanned weeks. RES was supported by a broad team that included representatives from the Klamath Tribes, the Karuk Tribe, River Design Group, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in carrying out the important effort.  Hundreds of the fish were found in places they do not belong and cannot long survive – in hydroelectric reservoirs downstream of their native habitat. These reservoirs are scheduled to soon be drained as part of the Klamath River dam removal and restoration project. This rescue and relocation plan had been in development for over a decade, having been identified as a required task before the dams could be taken down. With more than 40 people and a dozen organizations involved, the overall effort caught more than 520 suckers by setting more than 350 nets and fishing more than 270 cumulative boat hours. RES had staff onsite 24/7, and our rescue team often included up to 12 people working on boats in the middle of the night, yet everyone worked safely and efficiently. RES coordinated the rescue plan and operations, with our role ending as the suckers were loaded onto transport trucks and into the custody of USF&WS and Klamath Tribes. The work across multiple reservoirs enabled the relocation of approximately 390 rare and imperiled suckers that will now have the opportunity to contribute to recovery and management actions. Read full story: https://res.us/newsletter/saving-stranded-suckers-2/

1. © Copyright 2021 RES
Klamath Dam Removal Restoration April 2023
RES Sucker Salvage
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

2. Catching suckers is a nighttime operation. Safety is paramount, and the team kicked off every evening with a “tailgate meeting” to tightly coordinate crew rosters and
plans for each of the three boats involved, as well as review safety best practices.
Rescuing these suckers, pre-dam removal, has been in planning for a decade. Authors, photographers and journalists joined the effort on selected evenings. This night’s
crew at J.C. Boyle Reservoir included staff from Klamath Tribes, RES, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with author Jacques Leslie,, whose writing
tracks the decline and restoration of the Klamath Basin.
Photo credit: Ken Sanchez

3. “Klamath Tribes Boat, this is RES Boat. Do you copy?”
Three boats, each staffed by an experienced crew of biologists from RES, the Klamath Tribes and River Design Group, all stayed in radio contact throughout the night. Here,
Here, Dylan Keel, RES ecologist, deploys a net from the Klamath Tribes boat. At the helm is James Esqueda, Klamath Tribes member, and helping with the net is Dr. Alex
Gonyaw, Klamath Tribes senior fisheries biologist.
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

4. The RES boat heads out for the night at J.C. Boyle Reservoir, carrying Dan Chase (left), RES director of fisheries and the team lead for the sucker salvage operations, along
with RES fisheries staff Joel Ophoff (captaining vessel) and John Lang (right).
Photo credit: Dan Chase

5. Nets were first cast around sunset. Crews on the RES boat and River Design Group boat took advantage of the remaining daylight to discuss net set locations and
conditions while the nets did their work.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

6. Crews set and checked nets throughout the night to catch these rare fish. At times this required them to work in challenging conditions, like this large swarm of bugs the
crew of the River Design boat is contending with here.
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

7. Fish were transferred one by one from boats to net pens, where they had more freedom to move until morning, when it would be time for processing and transfer to
hatchery trucks.
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

8. Net pens served as a staging area for each night’s catch.
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

9. Photo credit: Shane Anderson
RES fisheries biologist Olivia Vosburg starts the morning moving a single sucker out of a net pen and onward to the “fish processing” station where it would be identified
to a species, tagged and have a genetic sample taken. This process was repeated for hundreds of suckers salvaged over the two-week operation.

10. “Fish Camp” was home base at each reservoir fished. Pictured here was the set up for the weeklong effort at J.C. Boyle Reservoir. The tent (left) was camp kitchen, where
RES senior regulatory lead Ken Sanchez served as cook and host.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

11. The fish continue their journey from net pens to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) hatchery trucks, where after processing, they go on to temporary homes in secure
ponds away from the reservoirs while their genetic samples are analyzed by the USFWS.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

12. RES fisheries biologist Olivia Vosburg was delighted to be relocating a large C’waam (Lost River sucker) during the load-up to the USFWS transport truck.
Just like the Koptu (shortnose sucker), the C’waam originates from further upriver in the Upper Klamath Basin, where both species’ numbers have declined dangerously.
Each sucker moved represented a second chance for the fish that had otherwise been disconnected from the Upper Klamath Basin and would now have a chance to
contribute to recovery or management actions.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

13. It’s a human “fish ladder” as Olivia Vosburg hands off one of the suckers to a USFWS staffer during transfer to a hatchery truck.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

14. At fish camp, Steven Staiger and Olivia Vosburg, RES fisheries staff, take a fish through the processing steps needed to determine their condition, size, maturity, and
species.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

15. Handling the fish as gently as possible was part of giving these fish the respect they are due. The team kept the gravity of the work front of mind. This was a rare moment
to handle species from diminishing populations that are fighting hard to survive.
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

16. During fish processing, the RES team is joined by Klamath Tribes member Paul Wilson, photographer for the Klamath Tribes and the Sierra Club. Also pictured is Carlie
Sharpes, a member of the Klamath Tribe fisheries program, who assisted with nighttime capture and daytime processing work during parts of the Oregon effort.
Photo credit: Dan Chase

17. Genetic samples were taken from the caudal fin during fish processing. They will be analyzed by the USFWS to determine future management options for these imperiled
fish.
Photo credit: Shane Anderson

18. Strong coordination across the Klamath Tribes, USFWS, CDFW, ODFW, BLM, RES, River Design Group, and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) helped make the
salvage operation a success. While RES’ primary role on the project is river restoration following dam removal, RES was happy to be entrusted with this important
fisheries effort. Here, Troy Brandt with River Design Group, part of the team assembled by RES, demonstrates the identification traits biologists look for to distinguish
specific sucker species to USFWS and KRRC.
Photo credit: Dan Chase