Burbot, a.k.a. "The Leopards of the Kootenai"

by: Vaughn L. Paragamian Principal Fisheries Research Biologist Idaho Department of Fish and Game The world's only freshwater cod, the burbot is rapidly in decline in the Kootenai River of north Idaho and British Columbia. Burbot found in this area, have been nicknamed the "Leopard of the Kootenai River" because of their attractive color pattern. Burbot are found around the northern portion of the globe and there are many populations whose numbers are diminishing while some have vanished. In the west, burbot are found in Idaho, Washington, Wyoming and Montana. Burbot are a species of special concern in Idaho, Wyoming , and Montana while in Europe several countries are trying restoration efforts. Researchers with Idaho Fish and Game have captured only twelve new fish in over five months of continuous sampling this winter. Burbot in the Kootenai River Idaho are genetically different than the fish above Kootenai Falls in the Montana reach. At one time, the burbot fishery in the Kootenai River of Idaho and the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, British Columbia, produced thousands of fish annually making it one of the most robust burbot fisheries in North America. The Kootenai sport fishery was better than that of the famous Moosehead Lake of Maine. But within a decade of the completion of Libby Dam on the Kootenai River in Montana during the early 70s, the burbot population was in trouble. Many changes have occurred within the Kootenai River ecosystem. But the drastic increase in river flow from Libby Dam, warmer water during winter (when burbot spawn) and the trapping of nutrients behind the dam are the most serious changes. The loss of nutrients limits the amount of food produced in the river. In turn, less food can reduce the number of burbot and other fish. Fishing for burbot in the Kootenai River in Idaho was closed in 1992 and it is no longer legal in British Columbia. Is there any hope to recover the burbot? Flows of the Kootenai River in recent years have been generally lower because of the low snowfall in the Canadian Rockies. This will benefit burbot. In the winter of 2000-2001, there was evidence that a handful of burbot (less than 30) spawned in Idaho. A few individuals from this spawning were caught in the following winter and this past winter. Most important to recovery of the species is a special burbot committee of the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI). The KVRI is a grassroots effort created to take a proactive role in environmental issues in Boundary County by joining local, tribal, state, and Federal agencies to deal with these issues. This committee has recently finished a draft International Kootenai River Burbot Recovery Plan. The plan will be reviewed by the KVRI, and then a Conservation Agreement will be drawn up (a legally binding document). If river resource managers all sign the Conservation Agreement, serious changes to benefit burbot will come about. It will be important that the most influential river managers agree to the Conservation Agreement. These include the Bonneville Power Administration and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (both operators of Libby Dam). Even with the agreement in place, there still may be pending action regarding Endangered Species Act status of burbot in the Kootenai River. Occasionally, a Conservation Agreement that contains significant recovery actions it can preclude Federal intervention of the Endangered Species Act. Time will tell, but the "Leopards of the Kootenai" do not have much time before their numbers will be too low for recovery.