Humpback chub can survive more than 30 years in the wild.
An Imperiled Native Fish
Once found in countless side canyons throughout the Colorado River drainage, humpback chub populations plummeted with the construction of dams and other river-altering projects. These types of projects changed flow patterns, water temperature, and available food, thus irrevocably diminishing available humpback chub habitat. These highly-endangered fish now survive in a handful of isolated locations where a more natural flow regime is still prevalent. Threats to the humpback chub include flow regulation, habitat loss and alteration, competition with and/or predation by exotic fishes, and water pollution in the Colorado River Basin. Selenium, a heavy metal often found in runoff from disturbed sites, including uranium mines, can affect reproduction in fish (including the endangered Colorado River fish) and may bioaccumulate, impacting species higher in the food chain like river otters and bald eagles.
Natural History
The humpback chub is a member of the minnow family. It is thought to have evolved around 3-5 million years ago. It has an olive-colored back, silver sides, a white belly, small eyes and a long snout that overhangs its jaw. These fish spawn as young as 2-3 years and at lengths as small as 5 inches. The humpback chub lives primarily in canyons with swift currents and white water. Historically, it inhabited canyons of the Colorado River and four of its tributaries: the Green, Yampa, White and Little Colorado rivers. Now, there are two populations in the Upper Colorado River drainage – one at Westwater Canyon in Utah and one in an area called Black Rocks, in Colorado.
Conservation Status
-Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, 1964
-Colorado Division of Wildlife Endangered Species
-Utah Species of Special Concern
Action Taken
We monitor and challenge inappropriate development projects in the upper Colorado River watershed, including uranium mining, oil and gas drilling, and water diversion projects, to protect this rare species and water quality in the Colorado River basin.
